In regards to eating meat

[Tenet Nosce]

Linking long-term dietary patterns with gut microbial enterotypes.

Diet strongly affects human health, partly by modulating gut microbiome composition. We used diet inventories and 16S rDNA sequencing to characterize fecal samples from 98 individuals. Fecal communities clustered into enterotypes distinguished primarily by levels of Bacteroides and Prevotella. Enterotypes were strongly associated with long-term diets, particularly protein and animal fat (Bacteroides) versus carbohydrates (Prevotella). A controlled-feeding study of 10 subjects showed that microbiome composition changed detectably within 24 hours of initiating a high-fat/low-fiber or low-fat/high-fiber diet, but that enterotype identity remained stable during the 10-day study. Thus, alternative enterotype states are associated with long-term diet.

What is the point you are making here?

Somewhere earlier in the thread I was talking about gut enterotypes- there are three distinct groupings of gut bacteria that are associated with the human body. I had speculated that at least one of the types would turn out to be associated with an animal-based diet which would explain why some people report that they feel much better when incorporating meat into their diet. This research confirms my previous speculations.

In order words- this new research supports the idea that some people's bodies require animal foods to function properly, and calls into question the notion that vegetarianism is right for everybody. Which relates back to my original point on this thread which expressed concern for nutritional zealots and other health "gurus" who promote that vegetarianism/veganism can only be beneficial to one's health.