Personalized nutrition has gained popularity in recent years and is popular with consumers looking to improve their health through foods and beverages. The appeal of personalized nutrition for consumers is so great. Statista estimated the global market at $8.2 billion in 2020 and predicts this figure will double by 2025.
Now researchers at Yale University believe they have made a breakthrough that could revolutionize personalized nutrition, increasing its importance and further strengthening its appeal.
How can new research boost the personalized food industry?
A research team from the Yale Mbiotic Sciences Institute has created the first systematic map showing how individual gut bacteria interact with food molecules. As a result, there is an understanding of how different gut microbes metabolically process different food compounds, and how that process affects health.
The findings could pave the way for better personalized nutrition, based on how specific microbial genes in an individual’s gut respond to different foods and drinks. It could also tackle diseases such as diabetes.
This study builds on previous research into the effects of medications on intestinal bacteria. While much is known about the effect of macronutrients such as fiber on the gut microbiome, little is known about the effect of other small molecule components in foods and beverages.
“We know that diet is a huge part of our health and shapes our microbiome,” said Elizabeth Culp, a former postdoctoral researcher in the Goodman Lab and first author of the study. “Apart from anecdotal examples in the scientific literature, there is scant evidence about the dietary changes people can make to help them manage risk factors for diseases such as diabetes or cancer. It is possible that this is because our microbiomes respond differently to the same molecules present in food.”
The hypothesis was correct. Researchers found a high degree of variability and proved that a single food ingredient can reshape one individual’s microbial community but have no impact on another’s.
The researchers’ molecular map provides a mechanism to explain the variable responses between different people, showing how a nutrient affects the growth of gut microbes and how that compound is metabolically altered by the microbial community.
The term gut health has gained increasing interest in recent years as consumer understanding of the function and importance of the gut microbiome continues to grow.
“Consumer understanding of gut health has grown significantly in recent years, and we attribute this to several factors,” Reshma Patel, marketing manager at Yakult UK, told FoodNavigator.
“While probiotics have been recognized globally for some time, it is only relatively recently that scientific advances have highlighted the profound impact of gut health on overall well-being. It extends far beyond digestion, with mounting evidence revealing the interconnection of the body’s major organs, with the At the heart of this complicated system is a cultural shift toward preventative health measures rather than just focusing on healing. People are becoming more proactive in maintaining their health, rather than waiting for illness or disease to strike.”
What is personalized nutrition?
Personalized nutrition, also called precision nutrition, is individualized nutritional advice or dietary guidelines based on a combination of a person’s genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors.
Factors that determine nutritional recommendations include dietary habits, health status, phenotype, gut microbiome, and genotype. Personalized nutrition focuses on health promotion.
What is the future for personalized nutrition?
The researchers believe these findings provide a basis for understanding how metabolic responses vary between people and how these differences determine the growth of ‘good’ or ‘bad’ bacteria in the gut.
“If we can figure out the specific microbial genes that determine how a microbiome responds to a molecule in our food, and how these genes differ between the microbiomes of different people, correlations with diseases such as cancer, diabetes or gastrointestinal infections could become meaningful. ”, concludes Culp. “This is the first step towards creating tailored nutritional recommendations as part of personalized nutrition strategies.”
The personalized food industry is gaining prominence and as a result, food and beverage products are innovating to meet growing demand.
“Brands can expect more development in personalization,” says Rick Miller, associate director of food & drink for specialty nutrition at Mintel, who believes technology such as AI will take this further.
Glossary of gut health terms
What is the gut microbiome?
Each of us has trillions of microbes or bacteria living in our gut. These are collectively called the gut microbiome. The two most common types of beneficial bacteria in our gut microbiome are Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria. Maintaining a healthy balance between the helpful (good) bacteria and the unhelpful (bad) bacteria is fundamental to supporting a healthy digestive system, with the gut now considered central to health and accounting for more than 70% of us contain the immune system.
The gut microbiome has been linked not only to gut health, but to the health of the entire body. The gut-brain axis or the communication between the gut and the brain is a fundamental function currently being researched by scientists and also gaining wide recognition among consumers. The gut-skin axis and the gut-liver axis are two other connections currently being studied and understood. Additionally, gut health has also been linked to the prevention of colorectal cancer and other chronic diseases.
What are prebiotics in food?
Prebiotics in food are compounds that support beneficial microorganisms or good bacteria in the intestines (gastrointestinal tract).
Dietary prebiotics are generally non-digestible fiber compounds that pass undigested through the upper gastrointestinal tract and support the growth of the ‘good’ bacteria in the colon. Prebiotics were first identified and named by academic researcher Marcel Roberfroid in 1995. Prebiotics are found in a wide range of foods, including almonds, bananas, whole wheat, corn, rye and barley, and flaxseed.
What are probiotics in food?
Probiotics in foods are live microorganisms that are often described as beneficial or ‘good’ bacteria because they help keep your gut healthy. Probiotics are available in foods such as live yogurt.
The first probiotic, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, was discovered in 1905 by the Bulgarian physician and microbiologist Stamen Grigorov.
What are postbiotics?
Postbiotics, also called metabiotics, biogenetics or metabolites, are a waste product produced when the body digests prebiotics and probiotics.
Healthy postbiotics include nutrients such as vitamins B and K, and amino acids. Postbiotics also produce antimicrobial peptides, known as host defense peptides, because they help slow the growth of harmful bacteria.
Source: Microbial transformation of dietary xenobiotics determines the composition of the gut microbiome
Published online: September 24, 2024
DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.08.038
Authors: Elizabeth J Culp, Nora T Nelson, Andrew A Verdegaal