Residents of one nation in the Pacific Ocean have been praised for their dieting habits amid concerns about ‘Western’ dietary choices. Professor Jens Walter from University College Cork is one of the experts bringing attention to Papua New Guinea after making a notable discovery concerning the gut health of its rural inhabitants.
In 2015, his team contrasted the ‘fecal microbiota’ of adults from the United States to others from two non-industrialised regions in Papua New Guinea. The results demonstrated that Papua New Guineans exhibited ‘greater gut bacterial diversity’, which is associated with a potentially reduced risk of conditions like heart attacks and high blood pressure.
Moving on to recent developments, Professor Walter’s group has devised a hybrid diet called the ‘NiMe’, which stands for ‘non-industrialised microbiome restore’. This diet merges dietary habits from Papua New Guinea and other nations to enhance overall health and lower disease risk.
Writing for The Conversation, he explained: “The traditional diet in rural Papua New Guinea is rich in unprocessed plant-based foods that are full of fibre but low in sugar and calories, something I was able to see for myself on a field trip to Papua New Guinea.
“What sets NiMe apart from other diets is that it is dominated by vegetables (such as leafy greens) and legumes (such as beans) and fruit. It only contains one small serving of animal protein per day (salmon, chicken or pork), and it avoids highly processed foods.”
In line with Papua New Guinea’s traditions, beef, dairy and wheat were excluded from the NiMe diet, while high-sugar and fatty processed foods were also avoided. Remarkably, its fibre content exceeds current dietary guidelines, boasting 22 grams per 1,000 calories.
Professor Walter isn’t the only one singing praises for this diet. A peer-reviewed study published in January revealed that it not only aids weight loss but also cuts bad cholesterol by 17%, blood sugar by 6% and reduces heart disease markers by 14% (C-reactive proteins).
These findings come as heart and circulatory diseases account for a quarter of all deaths in the UK, according to British Heart Foundation figures. This is equivalent to 170,000 deaths each year, 480 deaths per day or one every three minutes.
Commenting on the study, Professor Paul Ross, Director of APC Microbiome Ireland, said: “This study shows that we can target the gut microbiome through specific diets to improve health and reduce disease risk. These findings could shape future dietary guidelines and inspire the development of new food products and ingredients, as well as therapeutics, which target the microbiome.”
Meanwhile, Dr Anissa Armet from the University of Alberta, a registered dietitian who helped design NiMe, added: “The recipes from the NiMe Diet will be posted to our Instagram (@nimediet) and Facebook pages, and they will also be included in an online cookbook soon. It is important to us to make these recipes freely available so that everyone can enjoy them and improve their health by feeding their gut microbiome.”