Li · Critical reviews in food science and nutrition 2019 · narrative review · n=?

Targeting the gut microbiota by dietary nutrients: A new avenue for human health.

Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data

Narrative review synthesizing mechanistic relationships without systematic review methodology or primary human data.

PubMed 28846450 · doi:10.1080/10408398.2017.1363708 · record verified 2026-08-26

What was done

This narrative review summarizes literature examining the interrelationships among dietary macronutrients and micronutrients, gut microbiota composition, microbial metabolite production, and host physiological systems.

What was found

The abstract outlines mechanistic pathways linking diet-derived microbial metabolites to host metabolic, immune, neural, and endocrine regulation, but reports no quantitative empirical data or effect sizes.

Why it matters

It maps potential mechanistic pathways by which dietary modification might be leveraged to alter microbial metabolism and influence host health.

Limits

As a non-systematic narrative review, it lacks formal study selection criteria, risk-of-bias assessment, and direct clinical outcome data. No quantitative human trial results are reported.

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