# Nutrition and the gut microbiome: a symbiotic dialogue influencing health and disease

## TL;DR

This review explores how diet shapes the gut microbiome, which in turn affects health and disease through metabolic, immune, and neurological pathways.

## Contribution

The paper proposes a systems-level framework to model host-microbe interactions and addresses limitations in current metagenomic studies.

## Key findings

- Plant-based diets promote beneficial gut bacteria and fiber fermentation, while meat-based diets may encourage harmful microbial shifts.
- Gut microbiota imbalances are linked to psychiatric, neurological, metabolic, and cardiovascular diseases.
- Short-chain fatty acids and neurotransmitters from gut bacteria influence energy metabolism, immune function, and the gut-brain axis.

## Abstract

The gut microbiome, a complex consortium of trillions of microorganisms, significantly influences human health through its metabolic activities, immune modulation, and interaction with the nervous system. Diet plays a significant role in shaping the gut microbiome, with plant-based diets promoting the colonization of beneficial bacteria and fiber fermentation, whereas meat-based diet may encourage harmful microbial shifts associated with systemic inflammation. Gut bacteria produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) from dietary fibers and those are crucial for energy metabolism, intestinal integrity, and immune modulation. Certain neurotransmitters like GABA and serotonin produced by gut bacteria, play a vital role in the gut-brain axis. Dysbiosis in the gut microbiota have been linked to various psychiatric and neurological disorders like anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, Schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Beyond neurological implications, the gut microbiota also linked to metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, including obesity, hypertension, and coronary artery disease, as well as colorectal cancer. Imbalances in bacterial ratios, such as Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes, can impact metabolism and inflammation. This review (i) elucidates the complex interplay between nutrition and the gut microbiome, emphasizing its implications for human health and disease; (ii) critically examines the methodological and analytical limitations inherent in current metagenomic studies; and (iii) proposes an integrated, multi-layered, systems-level framework for developing predictive models of host–microbe interactions and their pathological significance.