What is microbiota?

The NIH defines the microbiota as the full collection of microbes (bacteria, fungi, viruses, etc.) that naturally exist within a particular biological niche such as an organism, soil, body of water, etc.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/68064307

Often the terms microbiota and microbiome are misused. The following infographic from EUFIC explains them correctly.

Recently, gut microbiota has been under study due to its interaction with our health. If you search scientific articles you will be able to find numerous molecular experiments, animal trials, and even clinical trials trying to understand its role. Some years ago it was recognized as a virtual organ due to its role in human homeostasis.

Gut microbiota is configured mainly by our daily diet and the environment where we develop our daily activities. Other misused terms are prebiotic, probiotic, and synbiotics. The following infographic from EUFIC explains them correctly.

Prebiotics are the ones we can include easily in our daily diet. As the infographic shows, they are food for the microorganisms living in our gut. Also, probiotics are popular and people try to include them in their diets. Some of the most popular examples are summarized in the following infographic from Food Choice:

Fiber is a prebiotic and it is known for its role in the health of the gut. The following infographic from UCONN mentions the most important benefits:

If our diet is mainly ultra-processed food full of saturated fats can lead to an imbalance in the gut microbiome that is linked to diseases mentioned in the following infographic from EUFIC.

Resistant starch article

Watch the following video from minute 5.