Investigating the impact of diet and intestinal environment on the human gut microbiota
PhD defence by Malte Studnitz Jørgensen
Assessment Committee
Professor Faidon Magkos, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen (Chairperson)
Professor Sahar El Aidy, University of Amsterdam
Clinical Professor Christian Lodberg Hvas, Aarhus University Hospital
Supervisors
Associate Professor Henrik Munch Roager
Department
Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports
Place
Auditorie A2-84.01, Thorvaldsensvej 40, Frederiksberg.
Email address to gain access to the thesis: msj@nexs.ku.dk.
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Short description of the thesis
What shapes the trillions of microorganisms living in our gut? Diet is important, but it does not act alone. This PhD thesis examines how dietary intake interacts with the intestinal environment to shape the human gut microbiome. The findings show that habitual consumption of a varied range of plant foods is associated with a more diverse and stable gut microbiota, whereas fiber quantity alone does not explain this relationship. Notably, short-term perturbation of the intestinal environment through osmotic laxative treatment significantly altered the gut microbiota. Together, the thesis challenges a purely diet-centric view of microbiome modulation and highlights that commonly used measures of microbial diversity should be interpreted in context rather than as direct markers of health.