Part 11/17:
The Microbiome, Diet, and Long-Term Risks
Rhonda underscores the interconnectedness of diet, microbiome, and health outcomes. She warns against overly simplistic dietary slogans like “meat-only” or “plants are toxic,” comparing them to dogmatic ideology, similar to vegan or extremist diets. She argues that a nuanced understanding reveals that diversity, including plant foods, is essential for long-term health.
She discusses how a high-meat diet might reduce certain pathogenic bacteria but could increase others that produce harmful metabolites. Similarly, restrictive diets might deprive the microbiome of fermentable fibers, diminishing the production of beneficial compounds like butyrate.