Effects of Dietary Intake and the Microbiome on Metabolic, Inflammatory, and Mental Health

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue explores the intricate relationships between dietary patterns, microbiome composition, and their combined effects on metabolic, inflammatory, and mental health across the lifespan. Recent advances in microbiome research have revealed that diet serves as a primary modulator of microbial communities across multiple body sites, which in turn influence host metabolism, immune regulation, neurological function, and disease susceptibility through the microbiota–brain–immune axis. This collection welcomes original research, comprehensive reviews, and clinical studies examining how specific dietary components—including macronutrients, micronutrients, bioactive compounds, and dietary patterns—shape the microbiome and subsequently impact metabolic, inflammatory, and neuropsychiatric outcomes.

Topics of interest include the microbiome's role in obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, inflammatory disorders, autoimmune conditions, perinatal mental health, postpartum depression, depression, anxiety, cognitive decline, neurodegenerative diseases, and healthy aging. We encourage submissions investigating mechanisms linking diet-microbiome interactions to health, including microbial metabolite production, barrier integrity, systemic and neuroinflammation, immune cell modulation, and host–microbe signaling pathways. Studies employing multi-omics approaches, dietary intervention trials, life-course perspectives, and translational research across different body sites are particularly welcome. This Special Issue aims to advance personalized nutrition strategies and microbiome-targeted therapies across all life stages.

Dr. Fatima El-Assaad
Dr. Jordan Stanford
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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