Fiber is an essential component of a healthy diet, and researchers are still discovering more about its importance. Antibiotic resistance has become a growing issue in recent years, increasing people’s risks for severe illness and limiting treatment options.
A recent study found that increasing fiber in diet from diverse food sources could help decrease antibiotic resistance in the gut.
Antimicrobial resistanceTrusted Source is an ever-growing problem. It happens when microorganisms like bacteria adapt so, antibiotics cannot kill them off. People can have more severe infections and illnesses when antibiotic resistance increases. Experts are working to understand why antibiotic resistance happens and how to reduce it. A study published in mBio examined the impact fiber has on antimicrobial resistance.
Researchers found that a diverse diet with high fiber was associated with lower levels of antimicrobial resistance in gut bacteria. The importance of dietary fiber As per the Food and Drug Administration, fiber is a carbohydrate that the body doesn’t digest well. However, dietary fiber is essential for a healthy gut. There are two main types of fiber: Soluble dietary fiber dissolves in water and provides some nutrients to the body.
Insoluble dietary fiber does not provide nutrients but helps the body in other ways.
Fiber provides a variety of health benefitsTrusted Source to the body. For example, it helps clean away buildup in the intestines, thus decreasing the risk of colon cancer. All fiber types also help increase feelings of fullness, thus helping people consume appropriate nutrition amounts. However, fiber’s benefits may reach even further than the health benefits experts have already discovered. Antimicrobial resistance Antimicrobials are medications doctors use to treat infections caused by microorganisms. One of the most common examples would be antibiotics, which doctors use to treat bacterial infections. Sometimes “antimicrobial” and “antibiotic” may be used interchangeably, according to the CDCTrusted Source.