Personalized Nutrition and the Gut Microbiota

25 Jul 2018

by Andrea Hardy

Can nutrition be personalized based on an individual’s gut microbiota composition and structure, so we can care take a more detailed and controlled approach to looking after our health?

In a recent paper by Perry et al., researchers describe an investigation into the putative mechanisms by which gut microbiota alterations may lead to obesity, insulin resistance, and metabolic syndrome. Authors describe increased production of acetate by altered gut microbiota in rats. They link this to activation of the parasympathetic nervous system, increased glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, higher ghrelin secretion, hyperphagia, and obesity. Thus, they point to increased acetate production as a driver of metabolic syndrome.

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