Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Apr 15;12(4):1096.
doi: 10.3390/nu12041096.

You Are What You Eat-The Relationship between Diet, Microbiota, and Metabolic Disorders-A Review

Affiliations
Review

You Are What You Eat-The Relationship between Diet, Microbiota, and Metabolic Disorders-A Review

Małgorzata Moszak et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

The gut microbiota (GM) is defined as the community of microorganisms (bacteria, archaea, fungi, viruses) colonizing the gastrointestinal tract. GM regulates various metabolic pathways in the host, including those involved in energy homeostasis, glucose and lipid metabolism, and bile acid metabolism. The relationship between alterations in intestinal microbiota and diseases associated with civilization is well documented. GM dysbiosis is involved in the pathogenesis of diverse diseases, such as metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and neurological disorders. Multiple factors modulate the composition of the microbiota and how it physically functions, but one of the major factors triggering GM establishment is diet. In this paper, we reviewed the current knowledge about the relationship between nutrition, gut microbiota, and host metabolic status. We described how macronutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, fat) and different dietary patterns (e.g., Western-style diet, vegetarian diet, Mediterranean diet) interact with the composition and activity of GM, and how gut bacterial dysbiosis has an influence on metabolic disorders, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and hyperlipidemia.

Keywords: Western-style diet; diabetes; diet; dyslipidemia; gut microbiota; metabolic disorders; obesity; short-chain fatty acid; vegetarian.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

    1. Chong P.P., Chin V.K., Looi C.Y., Wong W.F., Madhavan P., Yong V.C. The microbiome and irritable bowel syndrome—A review on the pathophysiology, current research and future therapy. Front. Microbiol. 2019;10:1136. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.01136. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Manrique P., Bolduc B., Walk S.T., van der Oost J., de Vos W.M., Young M.J. Healthy human gut phageome. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 2016;113:10400–10405. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1601060113. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rinninella E., Raoul P., Cintoni M., Franceschi F., Miggiano G.A.D., Gasbarrini A., Mele M.C. What is the healthy gut microbiota composition? A changing ecosystem across age, environment, diet, and diseases. Microorganisms. 2019;7:14. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms7010014. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ley R.E., Peterson D.A., Gordon J.I. Ecological and evolutionary forces shaping microbial diversity in the human intestine. Cell. 2006;124:837–848. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2006.02.017. - DOI - PubMed
    1. The Human Microbiome Project | Nature. [(accessed on 21 January 2020)]; Available online: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature06244.