Hot flashestroubles mood or sleep or weight gain are known symptoms of menopause. Yet there are many other unrecognized signs of this period of life. Many women can indeed see their altered gut microbiome.
Menopause is characterized by a drop in ovarian hormones, what can lead to this negative impact on the microbiome. An imbalanced gut microbiome can impact an individual’s overall health, even beyond its digestive system.
Fortunately, recent research has just unveil a way to strengthen this microbiome affected by menopause. According to an American study published in the journal Food & Function, daily consumption of prunes may improve the gut microbiome of postmenopausal women.
Microbiome: a significant improvement after a year of study
For this study, the researchers performed a randomized controlled trial on 143 postmenopausal womenwhose age ranged from 55 to 75 years old. The participants were divided into 3 different groups:
- the first group ate no prunes ;
- the second should eat 50g of prunes every day ;
- the last group was to consume 100g of prunes daily.
The participants were followed for 12 months. At the end of the observation, the researchers discovered changes in the microbiomes of both 2 consuming prunes.
“The comparisons indicated significant differences in microbiomes“, specifies the study. The consumption of prunes notably enriched the family of bacteria Lachnospiraceae. The latter, present in the intestinal microbiota, would have the ability to decrease inflammatory markers in the body et to maintain the intestinal barrier.
Prunes Could Be Used to Improve Gut Health
“Previous research has shown that menopausal women experience health benefits from consuming prunes“, says the author of the study Mary Jane De Souza, professor at the University of Pennsylvania (United States). “It is likely that the gut microbiome helps facilitate these benefits. With this, we wanted to take a closer look at the specific effects that prune consumption has on gut microorganism populations. in postmenopausal women“, adds the expert.
These first results are encouraging. They could indeed encourage eating prunes to improve gut healthwithout drugs.
“Consumers are increasingly concerned about their gut health and this study confirms long-standing reputation prunes as gut-healthy foods,” says study author Andrea N. Giancoli, nutrition advisor to the California Prune Board. However, more research is needed to confirm the benefits of this fruit on intestinal health.