Human & Dietary Migration, Gut Microbiome, Health & Diseases: An Asian Perspective

Yuan-Kun LEE

Department of Microbiology, National University of Singapore

A balance diet provides nutritional requirement of people, as well as that for microbiota residing in their gastrointestinal (GI) tract.  Asia differs substantially among and within its regions populated by diverse ethnic groups, with different culture and dietary habit.  On the other hand, traditional Asian (largely vegetable and carbohydrate based) and Western (largely meat based) diets, and use of condiments (species) are now merging at many sites in Asia and affecting gut microbiota composition and health status.  These provide working models for study of interactions between diet, gut microbiota, and probiotic supplement, which have major implications in the maintenance of health status and disease aetiology. 

Keywords: Microbiome, diet, ethnicity, health, diseases