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
. 2014 Dec 24;7(1):17-44.
doi: 10.3390/nu7010017.

The impact of diet and lifestyle on gut microbiota and human health

Michael A Conlon  1 , Anthony R Bird  2
Affiliations
Review

The impact of diet and lifestyle on gut microbiota and human health

Michael A Conlon et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

There is growing recognition of the role of diet and other environmental factors in modulating the composition and metabolic activity of the human gut microbiota, which in turn can impact health. This narrative review explores the relevant contemporary scientific literature to provide a general perspective of this broad area. Molecular technologies have greatly advanced our understanding of the complexity and diversity of the gut microbial communities within and between individuals. Diet, particularly macronutrients, has a major role in shaping the composition and activity of these complex populations. Despite the body of knowledge that exists on the effects of carbohydrates there are still many unanswered questions. The impacts of dietary fats and protein on the gut microbiota are less well defined. Both short- and long-term dietary change can influence the microbial profiles, and infant nutrition may have life-long consequences through microbial modulation of the immune system. The impact of environmental factors, including aspects of lifestyle, on the microbiota is particularly poorly understood but some of these factors are described. We also discuss the use and potential benefits of prebiotics and probiotics to modify microbial populations. A description of some areas that should be addressed in future research is also presented.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Backhed F., Ley R.E., Sonnenburg J.L., Peterson D.A., Gordon J.I. Host-bacterial mutualism in the human intestine. Science. 2005;307:1915–1920. doi: 10.1126/science.1104816. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Scanlan P.D., Shanahan F., Marchesi J.R. Human methanogen diversity and incidence in healthy and diseased colonic groups using mcrA gene analysis. BMC Microbiol. 2008;8:79. doi: 10.1186/1471-2180-8-79. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Huttenhower C., Gevers D., Knight R., Abubucker S., Badger J.H., Chinwalla A.T., Creasy H.H., Earl A.M., Fitzgerald M.G., Fulton R.S., et al. Structure, function and diversity of the healthy human microbiome. Nature. 2012;486:207–214. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Huse S.M., Ye Y., Zhou Y., Fodor A.A. A core human microbiome as viewed through 16S rRNA sequence clusters. PLoS One. 2012;7:e34242. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0034242. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Manichanh C., Rigottier-Gois L., Bonnaud E., Gloux K., Pelletier E., Frangeul L., Nalin R, Jarrin C., Chardon P., Marteau P., et al. Reduced diversity of faecal microbiota in Crohn’s disease revealed by a metagenomic approach. Gut. 2006;55:205–211. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types