Diet is a modifiable, noninvasive, inexpensive behavior that is crucial in shaping the intestinal
microbiome. A microbiome “imbalance” or dysbiosis in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is linked
to inflammation. Here, we aim to define the impact of specific foods on bacterial species commonly
depleted in patients with IBD to better inform dietary treatment. We performed a single-arm, prepost intervention trial. After a baseline period, a dietary intervention with the IBD-AntiInflammatory Diet (IBD-AID) was initiated. We collected stool and blood samples and assessed
dietary intake throughout the study. We applied advanced computational approaches to define
and model complex interactions between the foods reported and the microbiome. A dense dataset
comprising 553 dietary records and 340 stool samples was obtained from 22 participants.
Consumption of prebiotics, probiotics, and beneficial foods correlated with increased abundance
of Clostridia and Bacteroides, commonly depleted in IBD cohorts. We further show that specific
foods categorized as prebiotics or adverse foods are correlated to levels of cytokines in serum (i.e.,
GM-CSF, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-alpha) that play a central role in IBD pathogenesis. By using robust predictive
analytics, this study represents the first steps to detangle diet-microbiome and diet-immune
interactions to inform personalized nutrition for patients suffering from dysbiosis-related IBD. Click to review