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
The Future of Personalized Nutrition: A Diet Personalized to Your Unique Metabolism and Microbiome
October 14, 2021
Virtual, Event
Join IAFNS on October 14, 2021 for this webinar with Dr. Sarah Berry of King’s College London in which she will explore the role that the micriobiome plays in shaping our unique responses to food relative to ‘what’ we eat, ‘who’ we are and ‘how’ we eat, from the ZOE PREDICT studies.
Convergence of Circadian Rhythms and Gut Microbes: Maintaining the Metronome of Life
September 7, 2021
Virtual, Event
Join the IAFNS Gut Microbiome Committee and the nutrition science community on September 7 for a dialogue with Dr. Vanessa Leone of the University of Wisconsin-Madison on her work elucidating the role of the gut microbiome in maintaining circadian rhythms and metabolism.
Read more about Convergence of Circadian Rhythms and Gut Microbes: Maintaining the Metronome of Life
IAFNS Gut Microbiome Webinar Series: Protect your Brain by Taking Care of Your Gut
July 22, 2021
Virtual, Event
Join the IAFNS community for a webinar with Dr. Hariom Yadav, Associate Professor of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair and Director of the Microbiome Research Center at the University of South Florida, who will share research on the gut microbiome.
Read more about IAFNS Gut Microbiome Webinar Series: Protect your Brain by Taking Care of Your Gut
Learnings and Challenges Developing the Largest Gut Microbiome Discovery Platform — From Bench to Commercial Application
June 30, 2021
Virtual, Event
Ten years ago, two scientists had a hypothesis that the body’s glycemic response to food was personalized and due to not just food, but the person eating the food. To prove their hypothesis they conducted the largest nutrition trials ever conducted and demonstrated that the gut microbiome has meaningful predictive value.
Fungi in the Gut: An Overlooked Domain of the Human Microbiome
June 24, 2021
Virtual, Event
Join the IAFNS Gut Microbiome Committee and the nutrition science community for a dialogue with Dr. Joe F. Pierre of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center on his work elucidating the role of the gut mycobiome.
Read more about Fungi in the Gut: An Overlooked Domain of the Human Microbiome