The human microbiome - the total of microbal organisms that reside on or within human tissues and body fluids - continues to reveal itself as an ever larger factor in our health and well being. Recent estimates suggest the average human body is inhabited by three times as many non-human cells as human cells,and this ecosystem emerges as an influential element of our wellness.
A recent study from the Cancer Epidemiology Research Program at Vanderbilt University and published in JAMA reports that a diet high in both dietary fiber and yogurt is associated with a reduced risk of lung cancers. The study incorporated over 1.4 million people from North America, Europe and Asia. Study participants who consumed the most fiber and yogurt had a 33% lower risk of developing lung cancer than those who ate the least fiber and no yogurt. Either fiber or yogurt alone also produced a protective effect, but a lesser one than the combination.
While the study does not support a specific mechanism of action for the reduced risk, the authors theorize that the combination of the prebiotics in the fiber and the probiotics in the yogurt produces the benefit.
"Dietary fiber and yogurt consumption was associated with reduced risk of lung cancer after adjusting for known risk factors and among never smokers. Our findings suggest a potential protective role of prebiotics and probiotics against lung carcinogenesis," said the study report.
As for the microbiome, stay tuned. There is no doubt much more to come.
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