Positive Health Outcomes Associated with Live Microbe Intake from Foods, Including Fermented Foods, Assessed using the NHANES

Context: Live dietary microbes are thought to promote health, but evidence is lacking.

Objective: Determine associations between dietary consumption of live microbes and health outcomes.

Study Design: Pooled cross-sectional survey data.

Dataset: 2001-18 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Instrument: Using our previously published live-microbes dietary intake classification system (PMID: 35583208), we quantified grams consumed of foods with medium or high microbial content.

Outcome Measures: Selected physiological parameters

Results: In survey-weighted multiple regression models that adjusted for confounders, an additional 100-g intake of microbe–containing foods was associated with a lower systolic blood pressure (regression coefficient: −0.331; 95% CI: −0.447, −0.215 mm Hg), C-reactive protein (−0.013; 95% CI: −0.019, −0.008 mg/dL), plasma glucose −0.347; 95% CI: −0.570, −0.124 mg/dL), plasma insulin (-0.201; 95% CI: −0.304, −0.099 μU/mL), triglyceride (-1.389; 95% CI: −2.672, −0.106 mg/dL), waist circumference (-0.554; 95% CI: −0.679, −0.428 cm), and BMI −0.217; 95% CI: −0.273, −0.160 kg/m2) levels and a higher level of high density lipoprotein cholesterols (0.432; 95% CI: 0.289, 0.574 mg/dL). Patterns were broadly similar when microbial intake was assessed categorically and when fermented foods were assessed separately.

Conclusions: In this pioneering analysis of nationally representative data, consumption of microbe-containing foods was associated with modest improvements across a range of health outcomes.

Published article: Hill C, Tancredi DJ, Cifelli CJ, Slavin JL, Gahche J, Marco ML, Hutkins R, Fulgoni VL 3rd, Merenstein D, Sanders ME. Positive Health Outcomes Associated with Live Microbe Intake from Foods, Including Fermented Foods, Assessed using the NHANES Database. J Nutr. 2023 Apr;153(4):1143-1149. doi: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2023.02.019. Epub 2023 Feb 22. PMID: 36822397