INTEGRATED CARE, DYNAMIC RESEARCH FOOD AND HEALTH ALLIANCE: HELPING OPTIMIZE DIETS

The gut microbiome is fundamental to human health, and it interacts directly and in a bidirectional manner with the food we eat. Diet and its interaction with our gut plays a critical role in virtually every system and function in the human body. This was the impetus for the Food and Health Alliance, developed by Houston Methodist with a vision to establish a premier destination for patients and the public to optimize their diet for health and wellness through evidence-based medicine and nutritional science.

The Food and Health Alliance incorporates a number of strategies that include patient and family education and dietary interventions as part of the therapeutic plan, and research on diet and microbiome in human health and disease. Our goal is to help patients understand the effect diet has on our bodies and empower them to make lifestyle changes that can improve their health. This involves not just the digestive tract, but also inflammation in any location — cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, psychiatric issues, and the aging process itself.

Clinically, we have established a special patient clinic for metabolic liver disease, and we will have a dedicated dietitian, and will soon introduce a psychologist dedicated to GI patients. Additional areas of focus include any GI or liver disease related to obesity, such as GERD and certain cancers; food allergies and intolerances, including eosinophilic esophagitis and celiac disease; and food intake issues and the nutritional consequences of GI or other diseases.

Research projects relate to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, irritable bowel syndrome and its interaction with depression and anxiety, gastrointestinal effects of the lowFODMAP diet, and the role of food allergies in modern diets. This year, the research team will hire a nutritional scientist.

Research Initiatives

• Participation in an international study of a live biotherapeutic in irritable bowel syndrome

• Direction of a study of probiotics on the brain and the gut in irritable bowel syndrome and how this may be mediated through the gut-brain axis and inflammation

• Participation in a multicenter study on the role of atypical food allergies in gut symptoms

• Study on how the microbiome may influence fat accumulation in the liver and fat metabolism

• Participation in an international study on changes in the gut microbiome in irritable bowel syndrome

• Examination of how changes in the gut microbiome may influence the effect of a probiotic in chronic constipation

• Involvement in reviews/guidelines on diet and the gut, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, how diets may help in irritable bowel syndrome, postbiotics

• Studies on interactions between celiac disease and irritable bowel syndrome