Abstract: Health improvement will become one of the most important challenges for countries in the 21st century. The consumption of healthy foods is the best way for people to prevent chronic disease. In this paper, the interactions among food compositions, microbes and their metabolites in the intestine as well as intestinal structure and functions are summarized. The gastrointestinal tract plays a vital role in whole-body homeostasis, whereas foods can provide nutrients and regulate biological activity to affect the initial events of a phenomenon and the mid-term bidirectional effects.

Key words: food, nutrition, health, gastrointestinal tract