Functional Foods, Gut Microbiome and Association with Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome: A Literature Review

The human gastrointestinal gut consists of about 100 trillion microorganisms, including up to 5000 different types of bacteria, as well as Archaea, Eukarya, parasites, viruses and bacteriophages that together are called the “gut microbiome”. Changes in gut microorganism composition (dysbiosis) can cause various diseases. The present study aims to investigate if diet, and more specifically, functional foods have an impact on the intestinal microbiome, and whether the intestinal microbiome has an influence on metabolic syndrome (MetS) and obesity. This systematic review was accomplished according to PRISMA guidelines, mostly using the key words functional foods, microbiome, obesity, MetS, and Mediterranean diet. The search focused on recent scientific articles from the Pubmed, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases. Most of the studies discussed showed a potential therapeutic effect of the Mediterranean diet, which is rich in beneficial nutrients, on body weight and fat deposition, through reshaping of the gut microbiome’s synthesis. This literature review showed a possible relationship between microflora metabolites, endotoxemia, obesity and MetS. The role of probiotics, prebiotics, and polyphenols in the prevention of obesity and MetS is of high importance in promoting healthy aging. The future challenge is to comprehend how different dietary patterns could regulate the gut microflora’s composition and whether these changes could be long term.