Gaby
Do you love junk food? Blame it on the Black Death – the name given to the plague that wiped out millions during the Middle Ages.
The second pandemic of the plague, which claimed the lives of 60 percent of Europeans in the mid-14th century, significantly altered the course of history. However, researchers from Penn State University (USA) and the University of Adelaide (Australia) suggest that the effects of the Black Death are still felt today, particularly in the health of modern individuals who indulge in unhealthy eating habits.
The team believes that our 21st-century love for junk food may be linked to dietary and hygiene changes that occurred during those distant times.
Analysis of calcified dental plaque from skeletons preserved since the Middle Ages revealed that the dominant bacteria found in our mouths today are associated with a diet low in fiber and high in carbohydrates, as well as with the consumption of dairy products.
As the researchers noted, these indicators correlate with the modern concept of unhealthy eating. It is possible that the Black Death triggered the dominance of these bacteria, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Thus, changes in diet and hygiene during the plague have impacted our oral microbiome. This mixture of bacteria in the body is known to influence immunity, heart and brain health, and may also be linked to certain diseases.
What Scientists Discovered
As Professor Laura Weyrich pointed out, “modern microbiomes are associated with a wide range of chronic diseases, including obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and poor mental health.”
The professor’s team collected material from the teeth of 235 individuals buried at 27 archaeological sites in England and Scotland, dating from 2200 B.C. to A.D. 1835. After processing the samples, the scientists identified 954 species of microbes, which were divided into two distinct communities of bacteria.
One community was dominated by the genus Streptococcus, commonly found in the mouths of modern humans, while the other was dominated by the genus Methanobrevibacter, which is now considered extinct. The analysis showed that nearly 11 percent of the identified variations in microbiomes can be explained by historical changes, including the Black Death pandemic.
“We know that people who survived the second plague pandemic had greater wealth and could afford more calorie-dense foods,” Professor Weyrich said. It is quite possible that the pandemic caused changes in diet, which in turn affected the composition of the oral microbiome, she added.
This is the first instance where scientists have demonstrated that events such as medieval pandemics could influence our body’s microbiome.
The findings of the study were published in the journal Nature Microbiology.
