A study with 728 children up to one year old points out that ultra -processed food consumption can negatively impact diversity and abundance of intestinal microbiota, with a more pronounced effect on non -breastfeeding children.
The results were published in the magazine Clinical Nutrition as part of MINA-Maternal and Child Study in Acre: Birth Cohort of the Brazilian Western Amazon which accompanies a group of children born between 2015 and 2016 in Cruzeiro do Sul (AC), with funding from FAPESP.
Children who still received breast milk had a greater abundance of Bifidobacterium a genus of bacteria known by the association with good intestinal health.
In turn, those that were not breastfed and made consumption of ultra -processed products, such as package snacks, stuffed cookies, chocolate drinks, sodas, artificial juices, ice cream, instant noodles, among others, had a higher abundance of genres like genres like Selimonas and Finegoldia little abundant in the group of breastfed children typically present in individuals with obesity or gastrointestinal diseases in adolescence and adulthood.
“We also identified that breastfeeding attenuated the harmful effects of the consumption of ultra -processed ones on the composition of the intestinal microbiota. The group of children who received breast milk and did not consume ultra -processed products presented a more stable and better health microbiota, especially for the greater abundance of Bifidobacterium ”, Says the first author of the study, Lucas Faggiani, who holds a doctorate at the Faculty of Public Health of the University of São Paulo (FSP-USP) and had FAPESP scholarships during undergraduate.
“There was no study to so many participants to this day that, throughout the first year of life, the composition of the intestinal microbiota in relation to the consumption of ultra -processed products, precisely when the immune system is forming. Although the region is difficult to access, these products can be obtained easily and end up replacing traditional foods and even breastfeeding, ”explains Marly Cardoso, professor at FSP-USP and project coordinator.
In addition to the sample size, Faggiani completes, the study stands out for being a population -based cohort in the Amazon region and with a remarkable social vulnerability, which contributes to the investigation of variables little explored in the literature of this theme.
Long -term
The researchers made the collections between 2016 and 2017, when the children participating in the cohort completed one year of age. The samples were collected and stored following a protocol developed at the Institute of Tropical Medicine (IMT) of the USP School of Medicine, under the coordination of Esther Sabino, a teacher at the institution. You swabs Proceedings with stool samples were stored at low temperatures and sent to São Paulo.
During the collection of these samples, and data such as children's weight and height, mothers responded to a questionnaire that included whether or not breastfeeding and the dietary habits of family and child.
Microbiota samples were sent to a company specializing in South Korea for automated genomes sequencing, much faster than traditional. In Brazil, with the data in hand, the researchers performed the analysis with bioinformatics tools.
Beyond levels related to Bifidobacterium (abundant in the breastfed and low in the weaned), Selimonas and Finegoldia (high in children who did not suck and consumed ultra -processed), the researchers also detected the greater occurrence of the genre Firmicutes In the group of children who no longer fed on breast milk, even in those who did not consume ultra -processed. Gender is a potential marker of an adult microbiota, suggesting early maturity.
Another genre found in abundance in the weaned group and ultra -processed consumer was the Blautry . Although some studies have found the same association, there is still no consensus on its beneficial or harmful potential. “There are a lack of robust studies to establish a cause-effect relationship between this genre and outcomes of health,” says Faggiani.
“We had noticed that the consumption of ultra -processed products occurred in more than 80% of children participating in the first year of life, when the recommendation of the World Health Organization (WHO) is not offering these products before the age of two. Given these results, we continue to accompany these children to monitor the possible long -term adverse health outcomes, ”concludes Cardoso.
The work was supported by FAPESP also through postdoctoral scholarship granted to Paula de França, co-author of the article.
The article Effect of Ultra-Processed Food Consumption on the Gut Microbiota in the First Year of Life: Findings from the Mina-Birth Birth Cohort Study can be read in: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s0261561425000317?dgcid=author
Consumption of ultra -processed products causes 6 deaths per hour in the country
This content was originally published in ultra -processed favors harmful bacteria in the intestine of babies on the CNN Brazil website.
Source: CNN Brasil