A new study has identified an intestinal bacteria that counteracts the harmful effects of processed foods. The results can help improve food production, as well as develop new strategies for the use of intestinal bacteria.

Today, scientists have enough data to argue that the frequent consumption of processed foods (when they form the main part of the menu) contributes to the emergence of many diseases. Processed meat can increase the risk of developing breast and intestinal cancer, ultra-processed foods can increase the risk of developing cancer in general and harm the health of the cardiovascular system.

Collinsella intestinalis 

Researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine in St. Louis show how the intestinal bacteria Collinsella intestinalis breaks down the harmful chemical in processed foods, making it harmless.

They used mice to study the effect of Collinsella intestinalis on a chemical called furosine. Researchers bred mice under sterile conditions, gave them strains of human intestinal bacteria and fed processed foods.

“A large amount of furosine and similar chemicals in the blood was associated with aging diseases such as diabetes and atherosclerosis,” the researcher adds.

Mice in which the Collinsella intestinalis were in the intestine were better able to break down furosine into harmless metabolites and increase the level of Collinsella intestinalis as a result of ingestion of processed foods.