Mediterranean Diet, Microbiota and Immunity

Abstract

It is well established that the diet, among other external influencing factors, also known as the exposome, has a key role in the prevention and management of different diseases. The health benefits of dietary patterns are derived from the nutritional and non-nutritional bioactive compounds (BC) present, which exert a direct effect on the individual (firstly on the intestinal epithelial barrier and then on distant tissues), on the microbiota (composition and functionality), and on the immune system (the intestinal immunity and also the systemic). Of the different occidental diets, the Mediterranean diet (MD) is the one with more scientific evidence suggesting a positive impact on health and describing the mechanisms involved. So far, in the last 5 years (2017-2021), a search on scientific platforms leads to more than five thousand publications for 'Mediterranean Diet AND Health', whereas a search focused on the overall mechanisms involved, such as 'Mediterranean Diet AND Microbiota' or 'Mediterranean Diet AND Immunity', only accounts for around 250 publications each.