A new review led by UC Davis researchers explores how multi-omics technologies and AI can revolutionize our understanding of how wine, food, and the gut microbiome interact to impact human health. This article highlights a major research gap: while wine is often consumed with food, little is known about how these combinations influence gut function.
There may be a need for a shift from reductionist nutrition models to a systems-level approach that embraces the complexity of real-world diets. By integrating tools such as mass spectrometry, glycomics, lipidomics, and proteomics, researchers can analyze how thousands of compounds in wine and food are transformed by gut microbes and how these transformations affect health.
This work aims to pave the way for precision nutrition, where data-driven insights inform dietary patterns and future food innovation. While there may be concerns around alcohol, it is important to consider studying wine as a complex food matrix rather than isolating individual components. This approach could lead to a deeper understanding of diet-disease relationships and better public health strategies.
