Exploring the functional roles of sustainable dietary patterns on gut microbiota composition and optimal health

The aging population presents a growing global challenge, due to increased risk of age-related diseases, leading to arising burden on healthcare systems and highlighting the need for effective interventions to promote healthy aging. Emerging evidence suggests that certain dietary patterns can influence the gut microbiome favorably, potentially mitigating age-related chronic diseases and metabolic dysfunction such as diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases. Gut microbiota dynamics, initially stable in early life, are disrupted with age, impacting both prokaryotic and eukaryotic symbionts, resulting in an adaptive response in the gut microbiota defined by an increase in composition and diversity over time. In addition to environmental and genetic factors, the impact of diet has been noted as a critical factor that influences these dynamics. In this review, we propose sustainable dietary patterns like the Mediterranean, vegetarian, ketogenic, and DASH diets as a suitable panacea to counteract deleterious feeding patterns by offering nutritious and environmentally sustainable options, potentially lowering the prevalence of chronic diseases and further explores their functional roles with respect to modulating the gut microbiota composition, and their overall impact on optimal health. Keywords: Aging; healthy diet; Gut microbiota; Mediterranean Diet; Plant-based diet; dietary intervention