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
Mini Virtual Symposium on Sodium, Part 2: Current Developments in Dietary Sodium and the Gut Microbiome
December 1, 2020
Virtual, USA
Please join us for a Mini Virtual Symposium organized by the IAFNS Sodium Committee, focusing on dietary sodium and the gut microbiome and downstream effects on markers of health.
IAFNS Webinar: A Predictive Index for Health Status Based on Gut Microbiome Profiling
November 20, 2020
Virtual, USA
Join an expert from the Mayo Clinic to talk about a predictive index for health status using gut-microbiome profiling.
Webinar Series on the Gut-Brain Axis and the Microbiome
September 25, 2020
Washington, DC, Webinar
This webinar series will feature research on the gut-brain axis and the microbiome.
Read more about Webinar Series on the Gut-Brain Axis and the Microbiome
IFT 2020 Annual Meeting
July 12, 2020 – July 15, 2020
Chicago, USA
IAFNS’s Gut Microbiome Committee is supporting a session on “Interpreting Gut Microbiome Research in the Safety Evaluation of Foods and Food Ingredients.”
Intestinal Gases: Influence on Gut Disorders and the Benefits of Monitoring Production
June 8, 2020
Washington, DC, USA
Curious about the inner workings of the intestines in which the body interacts with the microbiome to influence gut function? Please join us for a webinar with Dr. Kyle Berean of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (Australia), ATMO Biosciences and the University of New South Wales.