The gut microbiota is linked to so many aspects of our health, and several recent studies have observed an imbalanced gut microbiota, also called dysbiosis, in conjunction with various non-infectious diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and gastrointestinal disorders such as irritable bowel disease.

Luckily there are tangible ways we can change our gut microbiota composition. Diet has been shown to greatly impact the gut microbiota composition, which consequently also affects the production of beneficial short chain fatty acid production, intestinal barrier function and immune health.

A new study performed in the elderly from five European countries reveals that following a Mediterranean diet may positively affect the gut microbiota and health in this population.

Diet plays a crucial role in our overall and microbiome health, and the elderly are particularly vulnerable to suffering age-related health complications which could be related to changes in their diets.

Increasing evidence suggests that imbalanced gut microbiota may play a role in insulin resistance in Type 2 Diabetes patients and exercise has shown to have positive effects on the gut microbiome and metabolism.

Several studies over the past decade have associated the gut microbiome and metabolic disorders such as obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D), yet the exact mechanisms are not fully understood.

Viruses are the unknown studied members of the gut microbiome. A new metagenomic analysis in healthy adults reveals that fecal viruses show a high stability, individual specificity, and correlation with the bacterial microbiome for 1 year.

Besides bacteria, researchers have begun to study archaea, fungi, protozoa and viruses of the human gut microbiome. Although it is now known that the human gut microbiome contains several viruses, most of which are bacteriaphages, little is known about the human gut virome partly due to limitations in analyzing the fecal virome with the current metagenomic and bioinformatic protocols and technology. In fact, the human gut virome has been called “viral dark matter” because taxonomic classification of bacterial viruses is largely unknown due to the high inter-individual variation of species, lack of a universal gene marker like 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) for bacteria, and viral databases that are largely incomplete.

The commensal bacterium Akkermansia muciniphila has garnered considerable attention for its association with leanness as well as for its other health benefits in relation to obesity, excess weight and type 2 diabetes.

The gut microbiota is now believed to be a factor involved in the onset of cardiometabolic disorders such as obesity. In human and rat studies, the commensal* bacterium Akkermansia muciniphila– which is naturally present in large quantities in the gut microbiota of healthy people – has been gaining a lot of attention for its association with leanness and for producing several health benefits against obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Scientists struggle to understand why some gut bacteria are sensitive to antibiotics while a fraction of them survive treatment. New research in mice reveals that gut microbial metabolism alongside diet play a key role in modifying the extent of gut microbiome disruption in response to antibiotics.

Crohn’s Disease (CD) is one of the sets of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that consists of chronic inflammation of the terminal ileum, that can extend throughout the gastrointestinal tract. Researchers have focused more on the role the gut microbiota plays in CD over the years to better understand disease progression. Increased endotoxemia, inflammation, fungal loads and changes in the gut microbiota composition, as well as altered mucins production have been observed in CD patients compared to healthy populations.

Recent studies show that the gut microbiota may affect our body’s response to insulin, a hormone that helps glucose enter the body’s cells so it can be used as energy.

The microbes that inhabit our intestines are responsible for several functions such as synthesizing vitamins as well as modulating our immune system, metabolism and blood sugar levels. Recent studies show that the gut microbiota may affect our body’s response to insulin, a hormone that helps glucose enter into the body’s cells so that it can be used as energy. For this reason, many researchers are interested in targeting the gut microbiota to improve obesity-associated blood glucose impairment since many obese and type 2 diabetes patients suffer from decreased insulin sensitivity and increased blood sugar, also known as insulin resistance. For example, imbalances of the gut microbiota have been associated with insulin resistance in patients with obesity and other metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes.

There is a growing interest in the role diet plays in behavior, yet current studies have yielded inconsistent results around directly linking the gut microbiome as the cause of certain behaviors such as anxiety, depression and autistic behavior. A recent study tries to tackle the question of whether the gut microbiome is directly linked to autism spectrum disorders.

April is World Autism Awareness Month, a period for raising awareness about the conditions that impact communication, social interaction and behavior and affect about 1 in 160 children worldwide and 1 in 44 in the US.

The purpose of the article is to uncover how dietary components and long-term dietary patterns interact with and influence gut microbiota composition and function and intestinal inflammation.

As the saying goes, an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but figuring out exactly how long-term dietary patterns affect the gut microbiome’s role in regulating inflammation has not been quite as clear for researchers.

Diet has been shown to play a role in both IBD and IBS symptoms and possibly disease progression

Diet greatly influences gut microbiota composition, and evidence shows how the way gut microbiota metabolizes our food may be more relevant than the actual food we eat.

With so many diets and trends– high fat, low fat, low carb, Paleo, vegan, etc.– it’s hard to know which diet is best for our health. Diet greatly influences gut microbiota composition, and evidence shows how the gut microbiota metabolizes our food may matter as much as what we eat.

Occasional gastrointestinal symptoms are common in the otherwise healthy population. Most symptoms respond to dietary changes presumably via changes in the gut microbiota. Evidence shows that diet has a major impact on the gut microbiota and overall gastrointestinal health, and dietary interventions, such as consuming probiotics, especially Bifidobacterium, and the low oligo-, di-, and monosaccharide and polyol (FODMAP) diet, are recommended for different disorders. Physical activity may also improve the gut microbiota composition and appears to reduce digestive complaints, yet many studies analyzing the effects of diet and lifestyle are limited.