Elucidating the role of diet in maintaining gut health to reduce the risk of obesity, cardiovascular and other age-related inflammatory diseases: recent challenges and future recommendations

ABSTRACT

A healthy balanced diet is crucial in protecting the immune system against infections and diseases. Poor diets, such as the Western diet, contribute to the development of metabolic diseases, hypertension, and obesity. Microbiota, primarily composed of different microorganisms and residing in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), also play a significant role in maintaining gut health. Polyphenols and probiotics found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds promote gut health and support the growth of beneficial bacteria. Different types of diets, their categories, and their impact on health are also mentioned. The relationship between diet, gut health, and the risk of developing obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and inflammatory diseases is discussed in this review article. The rationale behind the review concludes future recommendations for maintaining gut health and reducing the occurrence of obesity, cardiometabolic diseases, and other inflammatory diseases. There is also the need for standardized research methods, long-term studies, and translating scientific knowledge into practical dietary recommendations.

KEYWORDS:

• Inflammatory diseases
• microbiota
• obesity
• probiotics
• polyphenols

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contributions

“Conceptualization, Tariq Aziz. and Nageen. Hussain.; methodology, Zunaira Hameed; software, Tariq Aziz.; validation, Nageen Husasin; formal analysis, Tariq Aziz.; investigation, Tariq Aziz.; resources, Tariq Aziz; data curation, Zunaira Hameed.; writing – original draft preparation, Tariq Aziz.; writing – review and editing: Lin Lin, visualization; Zunaira Hameed.; supervision, Lin Lin.; project administration, Lin Lin funding acquisition, Lin Lin

Additional information

Funding

This project was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 31972172), Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (grant no. BK20201417), Jiangsu Province Research Fund (grant no. JNHB-131), and Jiangsu University Research Fund (grant no. 11JDG050).