Science & Society
The Fiber Gap and the Disappearing Gut Microbiome: Implications for Human Nutrition

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Increasing evidence indicates that modern lifestyle, and specifically a Western diet, has led to a substantial depletion of the human gut microbiome. This loss is implicated in the rampant increase of chronic diseases, providing an incentive to fundamentally transform human nutrition towards being more holistic and microbiome-focused.

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Lifestyle-Induced Microbiome Depletion and its Implications for Health

Humans have evolved with dense microbial populations that colonize their gastrointestinal tract and are integral to our biology, for example, through the provision of signals that aid the development of the immune system. There is convincing evidence from research in animal models that a disruption of this host–microbiome symbiosis leads to an increase in immune-mediated pathologies related to chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, colon cancer,

A Low-Fiber Diet is a Key Driver of Microbiome Depletion

It is likely that a combination of factors (antibiotics, modern clinical practices, sanitation, dietary habits) have caused the decline in gut microbiome diversity. However, the only factor that has been empirically shown to be important is a diet low in microbiota-accessible carbohydrates (MACs), which are indigestible dietary carbohydrates that become available to the microbes that colonize the intestine. Research in mice showed that feeding a diet low in MACs substantially depleted gut

Dietary Fiber Can Increase Microbiome Diversity and Prevent NCDs, but Consumption Is Not Sufficient

Dietary fiber and whole grains have been shown to increase diversity of the human fecal microbiota 7, 8. Epidemiological studies further consistently show significant inverse associations between dietary fiber intake and microbiome-associated NCDs, and all-cause mortality, and research in animal disease models supports a beneficial role. Human intervention studies are often inconclusive, but inconsistencies may stem from a variety of reasons that have not yet been sufficiently considered.

What Can Be Done to Conserve and Restore the Human Microbiome?

Virtually all nutritional organizations encourage consumption of dietary fiber. Despite these efforts and a general understanding of the benefits, average dietary fiber intake remains low – thus changes in dietary recommendations alone are unlikely to result in significant changes in consumer behavior. What is necessary is an integrated effort that involves academics, the food industry, economics, nutritional policy makers, and regulatory organizations with the goal to systematically enhance

Closing Thoughts

The depletion of the gut microbiome might well be one of the 21st century challenges to modern society as it is likely to contribute to growing disease pandemics, with clear implications for public health [1], clinical practices [2], and human nutrition [6]. We argue here that we already have avenues available to enrich the food supply with dietary fiber (Table 1) in an attempt to restore composition and function of the gut microbiome. However, their successful implementation will require a

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