3.1. Effects of Diet Intervention on the Overall Faecal Microbiota Structure and Composition
No significant changes in bacterial richness and evenness were evident after the MedDairy or LFD diet study arms (The potential for effects resulting from the MedDairy or LFD intervention at Phase 1 to affect baseline measures at Phase 2 (following the 8-week washout period) was investigated. Carryover effects from Phase 1 were assessed by comparing baseline measures of paired samples at Phase 1 to those at Phase 2 (corresponding to Week 0 and Week 15 of the study, respectively). Bacterial richness, evenness, and diversity did not differ significantly between the Phase 1 baseline and the Phase 2 baseline (