In Brazil, prestigious scientific journal “Nature Communications” focuses on Adventist lifestyle

Nov 28, 2016
|

Brasilla, Brazil
|

Felipe Lemos, South American Division

The relationship between an intestinal bacteria and its possible effects on diabetes was published in a national scientific article, which featured the dietary habits of Seventh-day Adventists in Brazil.

“Estudo Advento” or Advent Study was published on November 14 in the highly regarded scientific journal “Nature Communications,” which is part of the “Nature” group. The British journal is considered one of the few academic journals that publishes original research in several scientific fields, and has an online audience of 3 million readers per month.

The article was written by Brazilian researchers Ana Carolina de Moares, Gabriel R. Fernandes, Alexandre C. Pereira, Sandra R. G. Ferreira, and Adventist physician Everton Padilha Gomes, who was the coordinator of the study, in partnership with scientists from Oregon State University in the United States.

According to Ana Carolina de Moares, who holds a doctorate in public health nutrition from the University of São Paulo (USP), this is only one in a series of articles based on the diets of selected Seventh-day Adventists in São Paulo.

The nutritionist explained that the content published in “Nature Communications” identified a relationship between the immune system and bacteria in the intestines and glucose metabolism. It was discovered that there is a difference in the quantity of Akkermansia muciniphila bacteria in the intestines of people with diabetes, with pre-diabetes and those who have “normotolerants” or normal glucose metabolism.

“These bacteria are shown to be present in people with diabetes and diabetes type 2”, explained the researcher and co-author of the article.

A relationship between the Adventist diet and the presence of the bacteria has yet to be established.

For the creation of this article, 94 Brazilian Adventists between the ages of 35-65 were evaluated. They also participated in the larger group that was included in the Advent Study, which involved more than 1,500 people.

Results in mice

The study of the Akkermansia muciniphila bacteria has been done for a few years. One of the studies, developed by scientists from University of Louvain, in Belgium, used the bacteria as a probiotic with the purpose of reducing the weight and the risk of diabetes type 2 in mice. They noticed the bacteria was capable of altering the layer of mucus that involved the intestines, protecting it against the development of diabetes type 2.

During the experiment, the mice were given a diet rich in fat, resulting in weight gain. Later, they received doses of the bacteria and lost half the weight they gained without any dietary change.

The mice treated with the bacteria also showed a low resistance level to the insulin hormone, a classic symptom of diabetes type 2.

 

The article in “Nature Communications” could possibly help create the means for this type of testing to take place with humans, which could later help reveal compare the presence of the bacteria between those who are vegetarians, lacto-ovo vegetarian or omnivorous.