New Study Links Plant-Based Diets to Healthier Gut Microbes and Metabolites - Video

Your gut bacteria may love more than just fiber-certain plant proteins could also improve your health.

Scientists have discovered that plant-based diets may protect your health not only because of their fiber, but also because of certain hard-to-digest plant proteins. These proteins help gut bacteria produce more beneficial compounds while reducing harmful ones.

The findings come from two new studies led by researchers at Princeton University, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the other published in Nature Metabolism.

Researchers found that gut bacteria break down nutrients from plants to produce different substances, called phenol metabolites. Some of these compounds support gut health, healthy body weight, and metabolism, while others have been linked to kidney disease, cancer complications, and other health problems.

The study showed that dietary fiber and a newly identified group of indigestible plant proteins, which researchers call "Prif" (proteins imitating fiber), work together to improve gut health.

Fiber helps protect the gut lining by reducing the breakdown of the body's own gut tissue, which lowers the production of harmful compounds. At the same time, Prif provides gut bacteria with plant protein to produce more beneficial compounds.

Researchers believe Prif could become an important new nutrient for improving gut health. In the future, food labels may even list Prif alongside fiber.

In a second study, scientists also discovered that many compounds previously thought to be made only by gut bacteria can actually be produced by the human body itself. This means some health-promoting molecules come from both our own cells and our gut microbes.

The researchers say these discoveries could help scientists develop better diets, probiotics, and future treatments for conditions such as obesity, inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, and metabolic disorders.

REFERENCE:

1. AbuSalim, J. E., et al. (2026). Digestion-resistant proteins support the healthy metabolite profiles associated with plant-based diets. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2605226123. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2605226123

2. AbuSalim, J. E., et al. (2026). Host metabolism can produce many indoles and phenols independently of the microbiome. Nature Metabolism. DOI: 10.1038/s42255-026-01550-8. https://www.nature.com/articles/s42255-026-01550-8