The Institute for Advancing Food and Nutrition Sciences (IAFNS) focuses on the science of nutrition and food safety. Its 12 committees support research projects aimed at advancing our understanding of critical issues in food and nutrition, such as those related to digestion. This encompasses the science of nutrition and the gut, which plays a major role in immunity, extraction of nutrients from food, the gut-brain axis and other physiological processes.
This month marks the evolution of one of the IAFNS committees, previously called the “Gut Microbiome Committee,” into the new “Gut Microbiome Committee.”Gut Health Nutrition Committee.”
The Committee on Nutrition for Gut Health advances and communicates scientific understanding of the impact of diet and its constituents on intestinal and host health.
We noted that the name of the previous committee…intestinal microbiota– was perhaps a little too technical or far removed from the interest in the tangible effects of diet on health. In fact, although much progress has been made, the parameters of a “healthy gut microbiome” remain elusive. The public is more likely to refer to gut health in a conversation that microbiota. Our new focus areas reflect current terminology and new evidence, justifying a name change and a refocus on more accessible language and evidence.
New areas of strategic intervention
With its new moniker, the committee now seeks to advance common definitions and approaches to measuring gut health among investigators and stakeholders. Shared understanding and definitions enhance the rigor and specificity of studies, guiding researchers toward more robust measures and results that can be examined collectively to answer questions.
Additionally, we seek to evaluate and advance the evidence for nutritional support promoting optimal gut and host health. Instead of focusing on disease, optimal gut health prioritizes healthy functioning. A focus on maintaining optimal gut health in all its dimensions has great public health value compared to a sole focus on disease. The gut doesn’t just influence digestion. Instead, research links what happens in the gut to cognitive function, immune responses, and other physical processes associated with long-term health. The field of gut health remains a challenging and fascinating area to explore, with the potential for substantial benefits that arise from advances in science.
Finally, the committee has a mandate to communicate evidence that supports the impact of diets and dietary constituents on measures of gut health and other systems influenced by gut physiology. One of the core principles of the IAFNS is “knowledge mobilization” and highlighting optimal gut health outcomes to multiple audiences and organizations through media outreach. This will be one of the pillars of the future activities of the new committee.
Courageous contributions
The panel supports five ongoing projects, a webinar series and other events and publications. These efforts encompass the impact of beneficial live food microbes on health (which was the subject of a recent September 28 webinar) and other topics such as gut metabolites, research best practices, recommended intakes, and the value of gut microbiome resilience, to name a few.
The IAFNS has a tripartite, cross-sector operating model, so advisors from government, industry and academia contribute to and guide the committee. This ensures that research value can be extracted by different sectors for more confident decision-making by all.
Research has shown that consuming certain live microbes, including probiotics, is associated with health benefits. Fermented foods, like yogurt and kimchi, are rich in live bacteria and can help support a healthy gut and support overall well-being. Consuming fermented foods may be associated with a range of health benefits, including improved digestive health, increased nutrient absorption, and a strengthened immune system.
One of the unique projects the committee studies the health status of the South Korean population given the relatively high consumption of fermented foods in that country. For this work, the hypothesis is that a) the intake of microbes from foods, including fermented foods, is related to systemic health indicators in an age- and sex-dependent manner in the southern population. Korean, and b) the effects of live food microbial intake on the systemic health of South Korean adults varies depending on individual dietary factors such as the Korean Healthy Eating Index score. This project draws on a natural experiment of multi-generational consumption of food microbes in South Korea to advance our understanding of its health impacts.
Collaborations
The committee also supports a project to develop a set of reference materials certified by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for clinically relevant metabolites. The pool will come from a small cohort of donors selected based on their health or disease status (e.g. obesity or healthy, controlled diet, etc.). IAFNS collaborated with NIST to develop a list of likely health-relevant metabolites that would be useful to include and measure in materials.
With its new focus, we urge everyone to consider getting involved with the IAFNS Gut Health Nutrition Committee as it evolves to generate major new knowledge about gut health and function. intestine. With a focus on nutrition for gut health, the committee’s current projects promise to advance understanding and communication in this critical area.
The committee collaborates with experts from the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP), the American Society for Nutrition (ASN), and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) on research questions on intestinal health of common interest and to further mobilize and publicize in the media the works carried out jointly.
About the Author
Marie Latulippe, MS, MBA, RDN, is director of scientific programs at the Institute for Advancing Food and Nutrition Sciences (iafns.org), managing the programs of several scientific committees in nutrition. She has over 20 years of experience addressing emerging issues in nutrition and applying evidence to policy development.
