The microbial community living in our gut is a unique combination of different types and amounts of bacteria. It is not a permanent bacterial mix, but an evolving one that can be affected by our diet, environmental factors, medicinal treatments, etc. Scientific research in the frame of the European MetaHit Project (2008 – ۲۰۱۲) has been able to identify and characterize three main different microbiota groups or enterotypes. There are indications that long-term diet influences enterotype. Type 1 is characterized by high levels of Bacteroides, type 2 has few Bacteroides but Prevotella are common, and type 3 has high levels of Ruminococcus.
Studies also indicate that long-term diet is strongly associated with the gut microbiome composition—those who eat plenty of protein and animal fats typical of Western diet have predominantly Bacteroides bacteria, while for those who consume more carbohydrates, especially fiber, the Prevotella species dominate.
