Occasional healthy eating fails to boost gut health, study reveals

**A fruit, vegetable, and fiber-based diet only has a positive impact on health if it is followed regularly, according to a study conducted in Switzerland reported by EFE on Tuesday.**

"Irregular consumption of healthy foods actually cancels out many of its benefits for the intestinal microbiota," said Marcel Salathé, head of the digital epidemiology laboratory at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL).

EPFL researchers found that a diet with highly variable nutritional value, alternating between healthy foods and , sugary or high-salt foods, can disrupt the intestinal microbiota (microorganisms in the intestine).

The study used artificial intelligence to meticulously record the eating habits of 1,000 participants, analyzing photos of food and product barcodes.

The large-scale data collection allowed them to determine that the regularity with which healthy foods are consumed is as important, if not more, than the quantity.

"This is a real incentive for future studies to analyze not only what people eat, but also their eating patterns over time," indicated Marcel Salathé.

The researchers also found that a person's diet can be predicted with 85% accuracy by analyzing their microbiota through feces.

The prediction also works in reverse to determine the composition of microorganisms in the intestine.

The study authors admitted that society has always known the importance of eating well regularly, as shown by campaigns promoting the consumption of five fruits and vegetables a day.

The researchers also noted that awareness of healthy eating does not always translate into concrete habits, remaining only as an intention in society.

The study, published in the scientific journal Nature Communications, was conducted by the Digital Epidemiology Laboratory of EPFL in collaboration with the University of California, San Diego, in the United States.