The Living History Connoisseur: an unexpected participant in the gut microbiome puzzle

Elva Eddasdottir, Vandana Gulati, Gal Winter

Affiliations – Biomedical Science, School of Science and Technology, University of New England

Introduction:

Fermented foods are known for their culinary importance in many cultures and have shown beneficial effects towards human health. Differences in microbial composition and metabolites in commercial and traditional fermented products have been found due to differences in production processes, and therefore traditional fermented products often exhibit a greater microbial diversity to the human gut. This study evaluated the consumption, eating patterns and frequency of fermented food products among individuals who self-identify as re-enactors or Living History Practitioners (LHPs).

Methods:

The aim of this cross-sectional observational study was to evaluate if LHPs consume traditional fermented products as part of their diet. A Qualtrics survey was distributed to 311 LHPs, out of whom 77 respondents completed the survey. The questionnaire included questions regarding the frequency of consumption of traditional and conventional fermented foods, as well as the types of products they consumed. The inclusion criteria for this study were individuals who self-identified as Living History Practitioners and were at least 18 years old. The data were analysed using Qualtrics software.

Results:

The results of this study indicated that 69% of LHPs consumed traditional fermented products at least occasionally. In total, 68% of the participants were female. The consumption pattern revealed that middle-aged and older LHPs consumed more traditional products compared to younger LHPs. To our knowledge, this is the first study of this kind, and the most commonly consumed products were found to be traditional fermented vegetables, traditional fermented grains, fruits and traditional fermented milk products.

Conclusion:

LHPs are a unique Western cohort to study the effects of traditional fermented products on the gut microbiome.