Researchers in Burkina Faso discovered that people living in cities have fewer types of fungi in their digestive systems compared to people living in rural villages. The study looked at gut fungi (tiny organisms that live in our stomachs) in people from villages, small towns, and the capital city, and compared them to people in Italy. They found that as people move from rural to urban areas and change their eating habits, they lose diversity in their gut fungi. This loss of fungal variety might be important for health, though scientists need to do more research to understand exactly how it affects us.

The Quick Take

  • What they studied: How moving from villages to cities changes the types and amounts of fungi living in people’s stomachs, and whether eating different foods plays a role in this change.
  • Who participated: People from three different areas in Burkina Faso (a country in West Africa)—rural villages, semi-urbanized towns, and the wealthy families in the capital city of Ouagadougou—plus families from Italy representing a Western city lifestyle.
  • Key finding: People living in cities had significantly fewer types of fungi in their guts compared to people in villages. Rural residents had much greater fungal diversity, meaning more different species of fungi living in their digestive systems.
  • What it means for you: If you’ve moved from a rural area to a city, or eat a typical Western urban diet, your gut fungi may be less diverse than your ancestors’. While we don’t yet know if this is harmful, it’s worth paying attention to as scientists learn more about how gut fungi affect our health.

The Research Details

Scientists collected samples from people’s digestive systems across different living situations in Burkina Faso and Italy. They used advanced laboratory technology called high-throughput sequencing to identify and count all the different fungi present in each person’s gut. This technology is like taking a detailed census of the fungal community, allowing researchers to see exactly which species are present and how many of each type exist.

The researchers compared three groups in Burkina Faso: people living in traditional rural villages, people in semi-urbanized towns (places that are becoming more city-like), and wealthy families living in the capital city. They also studied Italian families to represent what a typical Western urban lifestyle looks like. By comparing these groups, they could see how urbanization and changing diets affect gut fungi.

The study focused specifically on fungi rather than bacteria, which is important because most previous research looked only at bacteria. Fungi are a different type of microorganism that also lives in our guts and may play an important role in health.

Understanding how urbanization affects our gut fungi is important because our gut microorganisms help us digest food, fight infections, and may influence our immune system. By studying people in different stages of urbanization in Africa and comparing them to Western populations, researchers can see how lifestyle changes affect these invisible organisms. This helps us understand whether the shift to modern city living might be causing us to lose important microbial diversity that our ancestors had.

This study used modern, reliable laboratory methods to identify fungi, which makes the results trustworthy. The researchers compared multiple groups across different settings, which strengthens their conclusions. However, the study doesn’t specify exactly how many people participated, which makes it harder to evaluate the full strength of the findings. The research was published in BMC Microbiology, a respected scientific journal. The main limitation is that this is observational research—it shows that urbanization and fungi diversity are connected, but doesn’t prove that urbanization directly causes the loss of fungi.

What the Results Show

The most important finding was that people living in cities had significantly less fungal diversity in their guts compared to people in villages. Researchers measured this using a scientific metric called ‘alpha-diversity,’ which basically counts how many different types of fungi are present. Rural residents had the highest fungal diversity, semi-urbanized residents had less, and urban residents (including wealthy families in the capital) had the least.

The researchers identified 33 specific types of fungi that were strongly associated with either rural or urban lifestyles. This means certain fungi were much more common in village dwellers, while different fungi were more common in city dwellers. This pattern suggests that the shift from rural to urban living—and the dietary changes that come with it—directly changes which fungi live in our guts.

Interestingly, even wealthy families living in the capital city showed the same reduction in fungal diversity as other urban residents. This suggests that it’s not just about poverty or access to food, but rather about the overall urban lifestyle and the types of foods typically eaten in cities. The findings align with what scientists call the ‘hygiene hypothesis’—the idea that modern, sanitized urban living may reduce our exposure to beneficial microorganisms that our ancestors had.

The study also showed that the pattern of fungal loss follows a clear gradient from rural to urban settings. As you move from traditional villages to semi-urbanized areas to major cities, fungal diversity decreases in a predictable way. This gradient pattern is important because it suggests the changes are real and not just random differences between groups. The researchers also noted that dietary patterns were closely linked to these fungal changes, indicating that what people eat plays a major role in determining which fungi live in their guts.

Previous research has shown similar patterns with gut bacteria—people in cities have less bacterial diversity than people in rural areas. This new study extends that finding to fungi, which is important because fungi may have different effects on health than bacteria. The findings support the broader scientific understanding that urbanization and Western diets reduce microbial diversity in our guts, which some scientists believe may contribute to modern health problems. However, most previous research focused on bacteria, so this study fills an important gap by examining fungi specifically.

The study doesn’t clearly state how many people participated, which makes it difficult to assess how reliable the findings are. The research is observational, meaning it shows that urbanization and fungal diversity are connected, but it doesn’t prove that urbanization causes the loss of fungi—other factors could be involved. The study compares people from different countries (Burkina Faso and Italy) with different genetic backgrounds, which could affect results. Additionally, the study doesn’t follow people over time to see how their gut fungi change as they move from rural to urban areas. Finally, while the study identifies which fungi are different, it doesn’t yet explain what these fungi do or whether losing them actually harms health.

The Bottom Line

Based on this research, there are no specific dietary recommendations yet, as the study doesn’t prove that the loss of fungal diversity is harmful. However, the findings suggest that maintaining dietary diversity and consuming foods typical of traditional diets (which tend to be higher in fiber and plant variety) may help preserve gut fungal diversity. This is a moderate-confidence suggestion based on the connection between diet and fungal composition shown in this study. More research is needed before making strong health recommendations.

This research is particularly relevant for people who have recently moved from rural to urban areas, or those interested in understanding how modern city living affects their health. It’s also important for public health officials and researchers studying how urbanization affects populations in developing countries. People with digestive issues or immune system problems may find this interesting as scientists continue to study how gut fungi affect these conditions. However, this study alone shouldn’t change anyone’s medical treatment or diet without consulting a healthcare provider.

This is early-stage research, so there’s no clear timeline for health benefits or changes. If you were to make dietary changes based on these findings, it would likely take several weeks to months to see changes in your gut fungi composition. However, we don’t yet know if these changes would translate to noticeable health improvements. More research is needed to understand the practical health implications of these findings.

Want to Apply This Research?

  • Track your dietary fiber intake and plant food variety daily. Record the number of different plant-based foods (vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes) you eat each day, aiming for at least 20-30 different types per week. This metric correlates with gut microbial diversity based on current research.
  • Gradually increase the variety of plant-based foods in your diet, particularly if you follow a typical urban Western diet. Add one new vegetable, fruit, or whole grain to your weekly meals. Focus on traditional or less-processed foods when possible, as these tend to have more dietary fiber that feeds beneficial gut microorganisms.
  • Over 8-12 weeks, track changes in digestive comfort, energy levels, and overall wellbeing alongside your dietary diversity score. While this study doesn’t measure health outcomes, maintaining a log helps you notice if dietary changes correlate with how you feel. Consider periodic check-ins with a healthcare provider if you have specific health concerns.

This research is observational and does not prove that urbanization causes health problems or that dietary changes will improve health. The study identifies associations between urban living and reduced fungal diversity but does not establish whether this loss of diversity is harmful to humans. This article is for educational purposes only and should not be used to diagnose, treat, or prevent any medical condition. If you have concerns about your digestive health or gut microbiota, consult with a qualified healthcare provider. Do not make significant dietary changes without discussing them with your doctor, especially if you have existing health conditions or take medications.