Dr. Micheal Conlon - The CSIRO Gut Care Guide

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FOREWO RD BY DR ROSEMA RY STA NTON O AM Wev e come a long way in discussing the part of the body between th e mouth and the anus. For a start, we can now call it the gu t , a word that once pro voked some indignation when uttered by a child. We have also discovered the immense value of dietary fibr e and stopped dismissing it as mere ro ughage . Although wer e not quite there yet, many of us are als o happy to use the word f art , and hopefully will soon rec ognise it as a sign of a healthy microbiome! The old idea th at dietary fibre is a single substance has almost gone. Most people re alise that terms such as vitamins and minerals embr ace many diff erent substance s. We now need to understand that dietary fibre includes a wide r ange of compounds, fo und in a diverse ra nge of plant foods . And just as consuming lots of one particular vitamin won t meet your needs for the o ther 12, no single type of dietary fibre will fulfil all the bodys needs. For centuries, interes t in dietary fibre was confined mainly to its effec ts on laxation. In th e 6th century BC, Hippo crates exhorted his fo llowers to eat bra n. The Rev erend Sylvest er Graham, an early he alth-food crusader in North America, gave his name to a wholewheat cra cker to assist laxa tion. Britain s Dr Thomas Allinson similarly pr eached the virtues of a sp ecial wholemeal loaf and was barred fr om practi sing as a doctor as a result. Switzerland s Dr Bircher- Benner stretched th e idea by combining fresh fruit with oats fo r his famous Bircher muesli. More recently , Drs T ro well and Burkitt noticed t hat indigenous Africans ate lar ge amounts of dietary fibre , passed large st ools and had few bow el problems while the English ate fine white bread, had small stools and a high incidence of bo wel problems. I remember interviewing Dr Burkitt on TV as he trav elled the world, preaching his high-fibre story .

The world s first International Confe rence on Dietary Fibre in 1982 in New Zealand was possibly the be st confere nce I ever attended. Some of t he worlds notable profe ssors of medicine left lectures with t heir pocke ts bulging with slices of V og els bread from an e xhibitor possibly the only sourc e of dietary fibre in the fo od provided b y the confe rence organisers . I also remember Prof essor Mark W ahl qvist, one of the most notable and far -sighted Austral ian nutritionists, asking us all to consider not only the many types of die tary fibre but also the company they kept. T he fo ods naturally rich in diff erent ty pes of dietary fibre also prov ide us with vitamins, minera ls and a vast r ange of protective phytonutrients. Foods high in added sugars , poor-q uality fats , preserva tives, colourings , flavourings and other additives are usually poor sources o f dietary fibre. However , the greatest fillip to the dietary fibre saga has been the gut microbiome. A healthy gut microbiome thriv es on a diverse diet rich in healthy high-fibre fo ods. A good reason to forget f ad diets th at omit whole classes of plant food s. Our task now is to understand the importance of the gut microbiome. And her e to help is The CSIRO Gut Care Guide . The timing is perf ect. Dr Rosemary Stanton OA M Our task now is to understand the importance of the gut microbiome. And here to help is The CSIRO Gut Care Guide . The timing is perfect .

About the Auth ors

THE CSIRO GUT CARE GUIDE ABOUT T HE AUTH ORS Dr Mich ael Con lon Michael is a principal researc h scientist at CSIRO Health and Biosecurity , with a PhD in biochemistry from th e University of Adelaide. Dr Conlon has more than 30 years e xperience in investigating t he impact of foo ds and diets on physiological processes and health outcomes through prec linical and clinical research trials. A focus of his wo rk has been on understanding the effects of dietary components such as fibre, resistant starch, prote ins and oils on gut physiology , as well as other tissues and systems of th e body . Michaels work has also involved inve stigating the roles of microbes , such as bacteria, in mediating the ef fects of diet on the lar ge bowel, including studies to exa mine and develop prebio tic fibres and probi otics. He has shown that the inclusion of resistant starch and fibr es in the diet can help protect against th e toxic eff ects of poo r-quality We stern diets on the large bowel, demonstr ating that r esistant starch can reduce the risk of tissue damage that may contribute to serious colorectal diseases . Michael s vast body of r esearch has also demonstrated th e important role of fe rmentation by gut microbes in producing short -chain f atty acids , which help to maintain a healthy enviro nment within the large bo wel. Michael has continued to apply his resear ch to understanding and helping prevent adv erse health conditi ons such as inflammatory bowel disease and colore ctal cancer . Michael also has a keen intere st in developing new fo ods and nutraceut icals with gut health applicat ions.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS Dr Pe nnie T ay lor Pennie is a research scienti st and clinical dietitian at CS IRO Health and Biosecurity and holds a PhD th rough the Univers ity of Adelaide s School of Med icine, explori ng dietary strateg ies to optimise glucose va riability and self- management using real-time con tinuous glucose monitoring fo r individuals with type 2 diabetes. With ov er 15 years e xperience in clinical pra ctice and nutrition researc h, Pennie s research fo cuses on how digital health technologies and dietary patte rns can support weight management, including weight-loss sur gery , and help prevent chronic and clinical disease. At the CSIRO , her diverse skills cover develo pment and delivery of large comple x clinical and community trials that explore th e influence of food components and dietary composition on healt h outcomes. Pe nnie extends these skills working with industry partners to translate scienti fic research into f ood and nutriti on solutions, including deve loping foods and digital lif estyle prog rams. P ennie co- authors The CSIRO Healthy Gut Diet and The CSIRO Low-c arb Diet book series, which were r ecently tra nslated into commercially available re ady-made meals designed t o comply with the CSIRO Low-c arb Diet. As a practising dieti tian, Pe nnie remains an active member of t he primary health community and is an active committee membe r for the Au stralian and New Ze aland Metabolic and Obesity Surgery S ociety (ANZMOSS )and the American Society of Met abolic and Bariatric Surgery (AS MBS) and a member of the Primary Healt h Network Clinical Council.