CDT Fall 2022 - 48

Should more emphasis be placed on validating
the implicit health benefits of food if we
are to attempt to reduce the impact of
lifestyle diseases by 33 percent by 2030
(as per the United Nations Sustainable
Development goals)?
THE DIET-GUT MICROBIOME-
DISEASE NEXUS
Hippocrates insightfully stated, " Let food
be thy medicine and medicine be thy food. "
However, in today's food ecosystem with the
incorporation of a pantheon of chemicals, do
we need to begin to re-examine the impact of
each of these additives on our wellness?
The gut has been defined as the " second
brain " and the gatekeeper of our well-being.
Imbalances in gut microbiota - the bacteria
that colonize our gastrointestinal tract - is
a central tenant in the pathogenesis of a
growing list of diseases including cancer,
diabetes, heart disease, and many autoimmune
disorders. Importantly, replacement of an
imbalanced microbiome with a presumed
healthy biome through fecal transplantation
has the potential to restore health when
patients are diagnosed with certain types of
medical ailments.4
How is it possible that these microbes can
be so detrimental or beneficial to our health?
Humans live in a symbiotic relationship
with an estimated 500-1000 species of
bacteria that account for an estimated 3.8
x 1013
bacteria cells within the human body.
An average 70 kg human possesses 3.0
x 1013
human cells-essentially there is an
equivalent number of bacteria to human cells
in the human body.5
THE FOOD-GUT
MICROBIOME CONNECTION
various factors are known to influence the
gut microbiome. As an adult - what we eat
and drink together with our age, level of
stress, and lifestyle are critical factors that
collectively affect the biodiversity of the
resident bacteria within the gut.6
It should come as no surprise that unhealthy
dietary habits can negatively impact the
flora within the gut, with the problem going
far beyond simply reducing consumption
of sugar, fats, and animal products like
red meat. Naimi et al. recently reported
that most emulsifiers, but not all, impact
microbiota composition in the gut with
48 CAMPUS DINING TODAY | SUSTAINABILITY AND HUMAN WELFARE: STRATEGIES FROM A CULINARY MEDICINE PERSPECTIvE
CDT Fall 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CDT Fall 2022
