Personalized Nutrition in Chronic Gastrointestinal Disorders: Integrating Assessment, Mechanistic Insight, and Clinical Intervention

Nutrition science in inflammatory bowel disease and chronic gastrointestinal disorders has evolved rapidly, yet major translational gaps persist between mechanistic understanding and clinical practice. Malnutrition, sarcopenia, and micronutrient deficiencies remain highly prevalent and are increasingly recognized as independent determinants of disease activity, treatment response, and recovery outcomes. Despite growing evidence linking nutritional status and body composition to disease trajectories, standardized nutritional assessments remain underused in clinical gastroenterology. Concurrently, emerging data reveal that diet is a central modulator of metainflammation—the persistent, low-grade inflammatory state linking gut integrity, adipose tissue signaling, and immune response. Studies exploring the effects of dietary patterns, ultra-processed foods, additives, and non-nutritive sweeteners on intestinal barrier function and systemic inflammation underscore both the therapeutic potential and complexity of nutrition-based interventions. However, integrating these insights into validated, personalized dietary strategies that improve real-world outcomes remains a pressing need in the field.

This Research Topic aims to consolidate clinical and translational evidence on the role of nutrition in inflammatory bowel disease and other chronic gastrointestinal disorders, with an emphasis on advancing assessment methods, understanding mechanistic pathways, and optimizing dietary interventions. By bridging the gap between molecular mechanisms and bedside application, the goal is to support the development of personalized, evidence-based nutrition care as a core component of gastroenterology practice. Research is encouraged that validates nutritional screening tools and biomarkers, clarifies how diet modulates metainflammatory processes, and tests specific dietary models or nutrient-based interventions with measurable impacts on patient outcomes.

To gather further insights into the intersection of clinical nutrition, immune–metabolic regulation, and gastrointestinal health, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

o Validation and clinical application of nutritional screening tools (e.g., BIVA, phase angle, STAMP, MNA) in IBD and chronic GI disorders

o Body composition, sarcopenia, and frailty as predictors of clinical outcomes in inflammatory and functional GI disease

o Dietary patterns (Mediterranean, low-FODMAP, anti-inflammatory, exclusion diets) in the management of IBD, IBS, and functional GI disorders

o Impact of food additives, non-nutritive sweeteners, and ultra-processed foods on intestinal barrier function, dysbiosis, and metainflammation

o Adipose–gut–immune axis and nutritional modulation of metainflammation in chronic GI and metabolic-associated disease

o Perioperative and post-surgical nutrition in IBD, liver transplantation, and bariatric surgery

o Pediatric and maternal nutrition in inflammatory and chronic GI conditions

o Translational and clinical evidence on micronutrient deficiencies and supplementation strategies

o Personalized nutrition care models and the integration of the dietitian into multidisciplinary GI teams

Article types: Original Research, Reviews, Systematic Reviews, Meta-Analyses, Clinical Studies, and Case Reports.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Inflammatory bowel disease, Personalized nutrition, Nutritional assessment, Metainflammation, Body composition

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.