09B. It Takes Guts to Be Healthy: Assessing the Gut Microbiome to Maintain Optimal Health

Focus Areas: Integrative Approaches to Care, Pediatrics Though health is commonly perceived as “the absence of illness,” considerations of optimal health for many of us—especially as we grow older—expand this definition to “optimal functioning in all phases of life.” As a clinical approach for patients, supporting this optimal functional capacity begins before the onset of disease and considers biochemically unique factors to optimize individual health through assessment, prevention, and treatment. The human gastrointestinal system plays a key role in this optimal functioning capacity via its microbiota, which are engaged in myriad metabolic, nutritional, and immune processes. In addition, studies increasingly suggest that each individual's gut microflora composition and activity influence host resiliency and disease development. In this presentation, we will consider the individual evolution of the human gut microbiome, as well as the variety of factors that impact its activity and composition: genetic background, age, diet, and the health status of the host. We will frame an understanding of the health of the gut through the lens of specialty diagnostics that reveal microbial populations, balance, and metabolism and discuss how such tools can support personalized patient care throughout the lifespan.