Food as Medicine: How to Feed Your Gut Microbiome

Posted March 29, 2024 | By Jordyn Flannery

Did you know that your gut microbes depend on you to feed them and that starving them negatively impacts your health? Join us in-person or watch along live online for a special Food as Medicine program featuring culinary medicine specialist, Allison Harrell, RD and Dr. Karen Corbin, PhD, RD, Principal Investigator at the AdventHealth Translational Research Institute. They will teach you how to feed your gut microbiome with a menu that will include whole foods that are high in fiber and resistant starch (like beans, seeds, and whole grains) and is based on new research findings from Dr. Corbin and her collaborators. After attending this class, you will be able to take these discoveries directly to your dinner table. 

Recipes can be found here.

Allison Harrell is a registered dietitian nutritionist and plant-based chef who has been passionate about food and nutrition for more than 20 years. She advanced her knowledge by becoming a certified Culinary Medicine Specialist, certified in Weight Loss Management. Harrell believes that every time we eat, it is an opportunity to promote our health. She incorporates culinary experiences with a science-based approach. Her programs and tools make a positive difference in the health of our communities by instilling confidence and knowledge in the kitchen. 

Karen Corbin, PhD, RD, is an Investigator at the AdventHealth Translational Research Institute of Metabolism and Diabetes. Her program of research focuses on enterohepatic metabolism and the mechanisms that drive individual susceptibility to metabolic diseases such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), diabetes and obesity.

Dr. Corbin came to the TRI-MD after a 3-year term as a Research Assistant Professor at UNC Chapel Hill, Gillings School of Global Public Health, Department of Nutrition. Dr. Corbin earned her doctorate degree in molecular medicine at the University of South Florida College of Medicine in 2008. She became a registered dietitian in 1998 after completing her dietetic internship at the James A. Haley Veteran’s Hospital in Tampa, FL. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Nutrition and Food Science in 1997 at Florida State University.

Dr. Corbin’s research portfolio includes both investigator-initiated and industry clinical-translational studies focused on novel pathogenic mechanisms and therapeutics. Her work is highly innovative and transdisciplinary and has the potential to lead to important advances in prevention and treatment strategies for common metabolic diseases.