The Role of Diet and Nutritional Interventions for the Infant Gut Microbiome

Abstract

The infant gut microbiome plays a key role in the healthy development of the human organism and appears to be influenced by dietary practices through multiple pathways. First, maternal diet during pregnancy and infant nutrition significantly influence the infant gut microbiota. Moreover, breastfeeding fosters the proliferation of beneficial bacteria, while formula feeding increases microbial diversity. The timing of introducing solid foods also influences gut microbiota composition. In preterm infants the gut microbiota development is influenced by multiple factors, including the time since birth and the intake of breast milk, and interventions such as probiotics and prebiotics supplementation show promising results in reducing morbidity and mortality in this population. These findings underscore the need for future research to understand the long-term health impacts of these interventions and for further strategies to enrich the gut microbiome of formula-fed and preterm infants.

Keywords: diet; microbiome; pediatrics.

Figure 1

Flow diagram of article selection process.

Figure 2

Effects of different microbiome modulators at different stages of the infant life. FOS, fructooligosaccharides; GOS, galactooligosaccharides; FF, formula feeding.