Aug 30 2023

Researchers Identify Healthiest Foods for Individuals Based on their Intestinal Microbiota and Metagenomic Data

As partners of the Stance4Health project, researchers from Tecnun, University of Navarra, have developed an algorithm that generates a personalized ranking of the healthiest options

As partners of the Stance4Health project, researchers from Tecnun, University of Navarra, have developed an algorithm that generates a personalized ranking of the healthiest foods for individuals based on their intestinal microbiota and metagenomic data.

The Stance4Health project, which stands for Smart Technologies for Personalised Nutrition and Consumer Engagement, is coordinated by the University of Granada and aims to achieve the stated impacts in the call topic. The consortium of Stance4Health consists of 19 partners from 8 European countries, with diverse transdisciplinary knowledge and skills. These partners include academics from universities and hospitals, researchers from technological centers, and SMEs specializing in food production, diagnostics, software development, and communication & dissemination. Among these 19 entities, 6 of them are Spanish, including Tecun-University of Navarra, University of Granada, Gestion de salud y nutrición SL, Sanavi Sociedad Anónima, RM Farmamedical, and the Fundación para el fomento de la investigación sanitaria y biomédica de la comunitat valenciana.

The program is funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 816303. It’s objective is to develop a comprehensive Smart Personalised Nutrition (SPN) service by utilizing mobile technologies and tailored food production. This service aims to optimize the activity of the gut microbiota and ensure long-term consumer engagement.

As a result of the recent research conducted by Tecun-University of Navarra, a unique tool has been developed that integrates intestinal microbiota analysis for personalized nutrition through artificial intelligence. This tool has been used to provide nutritional recommendations to 800 individuals in Greece, Germany, and Spain who have specific conditions such as obesity, celiac disease, and allergies. Ongoing nutritional monitoring is being carried out to assess the impact of personalized nutrition on their gut microbiota, mood, and sleep quality.

Intestinal microbiota exhibits significant variation among individuals and throughout life. While there is no universally ideal microbiota, greater diversity and abundance of microorganisms are associated with improved health, being influenced by diets that provide essential micronutrients. Rather than solely focusing on calorie count, the tool emphasizes the nutritional value of foods. The composition of food matrices plays a crucial role in both our diet and the well-being of our microbiota.

Microbiota research has been ongoing for over four centuries, but the current breakthrough lies in the impact of technology. The complex nature of intestinal microbiota needs the support of engineering and data science.