Fiber-Munching Mice Avoid Asthma

This is Scientific American 60-Second Science. I'm Sophie Bushwick. Got a minute?
It's important to trust your gut.
Because the stomach, and the food put into it, can influence the entire body.
For example, a new study finds that mice that eat lots of fiber have stronger resistance against asthma-like attacks.
For two weeks, lab mice ate one of three diets: low-fiber, or regular chow, or food supplemented with fiber-rich pectin.
Then the mice were exposed to allergy-inducing dust mites.
And the low-fiber rodents suffered from increased airway inflammation, while the high-fiber group experienced less of an asthmatic response.
Seems that fiber supports gut bacteria that produce anti-inflammatory molecules called short chain fatty acids.
These molecules then enter the bloodstream, where they can influence the immune system.
An over-reactive immune system can play a role in allergies and asthma.
But the fatty acids can calm down the immune reaction.
The work is published in Nature Medicine.
Directly injecting the mice with a short chain fatty acid had a similar anti-inflammatory effect.
But mice probably prefer fiber to a series of shots and it still helps them breathe easy.
Thanks for the minute, for Scientific American 60-Second Science. I'm Sophie Bushwick.