This new book is the result of over 20 years of research and analysis in the field of gut health by experts in the field. The book focuses on prebiotics, a magical component that has proved its worth in the management of various metabolic disorders and other diseases. The book covers the potential of prebiotics and their safety, their proven health implications, their mechanisms of action, and their use in day-to-day consumption. It provides an overview of highly dynamic gut molecular ecology and diversity and discusses potential factors that define a healthy gut. It also provides insight into recent developments in shaping the gut microbiota for improved human health, examining the prevalence, etiology, and pathophysiology of various metabolic disorders and diseases, including recent research-based results on the management of disorders and diseases such as diarrhea, constipation, IBS, oral health, depression, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer, and immunity.

Mini K. Sheth, PhD, is the Head of the Department of Foods and Nutrition at the Faculty of Family and Community Sciences, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat, India. With over 35 years of teaching and research experience, she specializes in prebiotics and gut health, clinical dietetics, and food safety. She has published more than 80 papers and has applied for patents for prebiotic cakes and synbiotic beverages and holds copyrights for booklets on fructooligosaccharides-added sweets, prebiotics, and diabetes management. She has held important positions including RD board member of the Indian Dietetic Association; President of the Indian Dietetic Association (Gujarat Chapter); Deputy Director of a WHO collaborating center, FN Department; and Deputy Coordinator of a UGC/DSA SAP III program. She has undertaken sponsored projects and has received many awards and recognitions. She has a PhD in Foods and Nutrition and has been a registered dietitian since 1986.

Shruti Dwivedi, PhD, is a researcher and health coach. She has been awarded a Young Scientist Award by the Universal Society of Foods and Nutrition and the Swedish South Asian Network for Fermented Foods for her research work on the gut-brain axis. She has published papers in peerreviewed international and national journals, and her work on the gut and mental health connection has been featured in The Times of India, Gujarat Samachar, and Sandesh Daily. As a consultant at the MAMTA Health Institute of Mother and Child and a health coach at NGOs, she has supervised health camps and activities in rural and urban settings. As founder of Nutrideck, she counsels people, both individually and in collaboration with organizations such as Mahila Patanjali Yog Samiti and Kaka Ayurvedic Chiktsalya, on lifestyle management in order to combat noncommunicable diseases and raise awareness about healthy living. She received a doctorate degree in Public Health and Nutrition from the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, India.