The Nutrition for Gut Health Committee advances and communicates the scientific understanding of the impact of diet and dietary constituents on gut and host health.
(This Committee represents the evolution of the Gut Microbiome Committee.)
Strategic Focus Area
- Advance shared definitions and approaches to measurement of gut health and gut microbiome across stakeholders.
- Evaluate and advance the evidence for nutrition support of optimal gut and host health.
- Communicate the evidence that underpins how diets and dietary constituents impact measures of gut health and other systems influenced by gut physiology.
- Through the Live Dietary Microbes Subcommittee, gather, develop, and drive science- and evidence-based decisions on dietary recommendations for live microbes (learn more here). See news story about the promise of research on dietary microbes for health.
Current Work
This committee has various work underway:
COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Abbott Nutrition
General Mills
Mondelēz International
National Dairy Council
ACADEMIC ADVISORS
Marla Cunningham, MS, ISAPP
Wendy A. Henderson, PhD, CRNP, School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania
Johanna Lampe, PhD, RD, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
Gary D. Wu, MD, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
GOVERNMENT ADVISORS
Cindy Davis, PhD, USDA, ARS
Lauren VieBrock, PhD, US FDA
William Yan, PhD, Health Canada (Retired)
Projects Supported by the Committee:
Publications
All Publications
An Overview of Current Knowledge of the Gut Microbiota and Low-Calorie Sweeteners
Nutrition Today, 2021
Read more about An Overview of Current Knowledge of the Gut Microbiota and Low-Calorie Sweeteners
Workshop Report: Toward the Development of a Human Whole Stool Reference Material for Metabolomic and Metagenomic Gut Microbiome Measurements
Metabolomics, 2020
This report represents the consensus opinions of workshop participants on developing general criteria for metabolite selection and a preliminary list of proposed metabolites. The paper describes some of the strengths and limitations of this initiative given the current state of gut microbiome research.
Establishing What Constitutes a Healthy Human Gut Microbiome: State of the Science, Regulatory Considerations, and Future Directions
The Journal of Nutrition, 2019
IAFNS previously took on the task of defining a “healthy gut microbiome,” and the outcome of this effort was published by Backhed et al. in 2012. Since that time, the body of work on gut microbiome has grown exponentially. In 2018, >40 invited academic, government, and industry experts gathered to evaluate progress toward this definition and explore the question: Can a Healthy Gut Microbiome be Defined Through Quantifiable Characteristics?
Events
Effects of Diet on the Structure and Function of the Microbiome at Different Tissue Sites
April 9, 2020
Washington, DC, USA
Dr. Vanessa Ridaura with Verily Life Sciences explores microbiota and diet research and the investigation of various tissue sites.
Dietary Fibers and the Foundation Guild of Gut Microbiota for Human Metabolic Health
March 31, 2020
Washington, DC, USA
Please join us for an educational webinar on fiber-gut microbiota interactions with Dr. Liping Zhao of Rutgers University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
Read more about Dietary Fibers and the Foundation Guild of Gut Microbiota for Human Metabolic Health
Health Tweaks by Diet-Microbiota-Host Interactions: Facts, Trends, Methods and Perspectives
March 10, 2020
Washington, DC, USA
This webinar will cover early microbiota studies and methods basis, dietary-based studies for microbiota modulation and future directions on diet-microbiome-host interactions.
Development of a Human Whole Stool Reference Material Certified for its Metabolomic Components: A Scoping Workshop
September 12, 2019
Gaithersburg, MD, USA
The IAFNS Gut Microbiome Committee is working towards developing a set of Human Whole Stool Reference Materials in collaboration with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The goal is to quantify gut microbial metabolites in the material that have been linked to diet and health.