TLDR
Adults who ate more foods containing living organisms tended to have slightly better blood pressure, blood sugar, body size, inflammation, and blood-fat measurements. This study cannot show that these foods caused the improvements.
Summary
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1 Study Aim
The authors examined whether eating live dietary microbes (living microorganisms in food) was linked with better health measurements. They tested this relationship for blood pressure, body measurements, inflammation, blood sugar, insulin, and blood fats. They also examined fermented foods separately. Eating more foods with living organisms was linked with slightly better health measurements.
2 Study Design
The researchers conducted a cross-sectional analysis (a health snapshot) using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a representative US health survey. They included 46,091 adults aged 19 years or older from 2001–2018. Experts classified 9,388 food codes by estimated live microbe levels, measured as colony-forming units (CFU), or viable organisms. The researchers used regression models (statistical methods for estimating relationships) and adjusted for demographics, lifestyle, income, and sometimes body mass index (BMI). They analyzed food intake as grams and as three intake groups, while examining fermented foods separately. The study compared eating patterns with health measurements at one point in time, rather than testing a diet intervention.
3 Findings
The study found that each additional 100 grams of medium- or high-microbe foods was associated with lower systolic blood pressure, inflammation marker C-reactive protein, glucose, insulin, triglycerides, waist size, and BMI. High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, often called “good” cholesterol, was slightly higher. Low-density lipoprotein and total cholesterol showed no meaningful reductions. Fermented foods showed similar patterns, although links with glucose, insulin, and inflammation were weaker. The authors stress that this observational design cannot establish cause and effect. Other foods or lifestyle patterns may explain some findings. They recommend randomized trials before developing dietary guidance for live microbes. Foods containing living organisms were linked with small improvements across several health measures, but controlled studies must test whether they cause those benefits.