Dietary patterns influencing the human colonic microbiota from infancy to centenarian age: a narrative review
Our dietary choices not only affect our body but also shape the microbial community inhabiting our large intestine. The colonic microbiota strongly influences our physiology, playing a crucial role in both disease prevention and development. Hence, dietary strategies to modulate colonic microbes hav...
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| Format: | Article |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Nutrition |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2025.1591341/full |
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| author | Vitor Geniselli da Silva Vitor Geniselli da Silva Nicole Clémence Roy Nicole Clémence Roy Nicole Clémence Roy Nick William Smith Clare Wall Clare Wall Jane Adair Mullaney Jane Adair Mullaney Jane Adair Mullaney Warren Charles McNabb Warren Charles McNabb |
| author_facet | Vitor Geniselli da Silva Vitor Geniselli da Silva Nicole Clémence Roy Nicole Clémence Roy Nicole Clémence Roy Nick William Smith Clare Wall Clare Wall Jane Adair Mullaney Jane Adair Mullaney Jane Adair Mullaney Warren Charles McNabb Warren Charles McNabb |
| author_sort | Vitor Geniselli da Silva |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Our dietary choices not only affect our body but also shape the microbial community inhabiting our large intestine. The colonic microbiota strongly influences our physiology, playing a crucial role in both disease prevention and development. Hence, dietary strategies to modulate colonic microbes have gained notable attention. However, most diet-colonic microbiota research has focused on adults, often neglecting other key life stages, such as infancy and older adulthood. In this narrative review, we explore the impact of various dietary patterns on the colonic microbiota from early infancy to centenarian age, aiming to identify age-specific diets promoting health and well-being by nourishing the microbiota. Diversified diets rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, along with daily consumption of fermented foods, and moderate amounts of fish and lean meats (two to four times a week), increase colonic microbial diversity, the abundance of saccharolytic taxa, and the production of beneficial microbial metabolites. Most of the current knowledge of diet-microbiota interactions is limited to studies using fecal samples as a proxy. Future directions in colonic microbiota research include personalized in silico simulations to predict the impact of diets on colonic microbes. Complementary to traditional methodologies, modeling has the potential to reduce the costs of colonic microbiota investigations, accelerate our understanding of diet-microbiota interactions, and contribute to the advancement of personalized nutrition across various life stages. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e56a58d0bd714dcf862ee217d69a8361 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2296-861X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Nutrition |
| spelling | doaj-art-e56a58d0bd714dcf862ee217d69a83612025-08-20T03:19:50ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Nutrition2296-861X2025-06-011210.3389/fnut.2025.15913411591341Dietary patterns influencing the human colonic microbiota from infancy to centenarian age: a narrative reviewVitor Geniselli da Silva0Vitor Geniselli da Silva1Nicole Clémence Roy2Nicole Clémence Roy3Nicole Clémence Roy4Nick William Smith5Clare Wall6Clare Wall7Jane Adair Mullaney8Jane Adair Mullaney9Jane Adair Mullaney10Warren Charles McNabb11Warren Charles McNabb12Riddet Institute, Massey University, Palmerston North, New ZealandHigh-Value Nutrition National Science Challenge, Auckland, New ZealandRiddet Institute, Massey University, Palmerston North, New ZealandHigh-Value Nutrition National Science Challenge, Auckland, New ZealandDepartment of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, Dunedin, New ZealandRiddet Institute, Massey University, Palmerston North, New ZealandHigh-Value Nutrition National Science Challenge, Auckland, New ZealandDepartment of Nutrition and Dietetics, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New ZealandRiddet Institute, Massey University, Palmerston North, New ZealandHigh-Value Nutrition National Science Challenge, Auckland, New ZealandAgResearch, Palmerston North, New ZealandRiddet Institute, Massey University, Palmerston North, New ZealandHigh-Value Nutrition National Science Challenge, Auckland, New ZealandOur dietary choices not only affect our body but also shape the microbial community inhabiting our large intestine. The colonic microbiota strongly influences our physiology, playing a crucial role in both disease prevention and development. Hence, dietary strategies to modulate colonic microbes have gained notable attention. However, most diet-colonic microbiota research has focused on adults, often neglecting other key life stages, such as infancy and older adulthood. In this narrative review, we explore the impact of various dietary patterns on the colonic microbiota from early infancy to centenarian age, aiming to identify age-specific diets promoting health and well-being by nourishing the microbiota. Diversified diets rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, along with daily consumption of fermented foods, and moderate amounts of fish and lean meats (two to four times a week), increase colonic microbial diversity, the abundance of saccharolytic taxa, and the production of beneficial microbial metabolites. Most of the current knowledge of diet-microbiota interactions is limited to studies using fecal samples as a proxy. Future directions in colonic microbiota research include personalized in silico simulations to predict the impact of diets on colonic microbes. Complementary to traditional methodologies, modeling has the potential to reduce the costs of colonic microbiota investigations, accelerate our understanding of diet-microbiota interactions, and contribute to the advancement of personalized nutrition across various life stages.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2025.1591341/fullgut microbiotadietinfantadultolder adultcentenarian |
| spellingShingle | Vitor Geniselli da Silva Vitor Geniselli da Silva Nicole Clémence Roy Nicole Clémence Roy Nicole Clémence Roy Nick William Smith Clare Wall Clare Wall Jane Adair Mullaney Jane Adair Mullaney Jane Adair Mullaney Warren Charles McNabb Warren Charles McNabb Dietary patterns influencing the human colonic microbiota from infancy to centenarian age: a narrative review Frontiers in Nutrition gut microbiota diet infant adult older adult centenarian |
| title | Dietary patterns influencing the human colonic microbiota from infancy to centenarian age: a narrative review |
| title_full | Dietary patterns influencing the human colonic microbiota from infancy to centenarian age: a narrative review |
| title_fullStr | Dietary patterns influencing the human colonic microbiota from infancy to centenarian age: a narrative review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dietary patterns influencing the human colonic microbiota from infancy to centenarian age: a narrative review |
| title_short | Dietary patterns influencing the human colonic microbiota from infancy to centenarian age: a narrative review |
| title_sort | dietary patterns influencing the human colonic microbiota from infancy to centenarian age a narrative review |
| topic | gut microbiota diet infant adult older adult centenarian |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2025.1591341/full |
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