Riley Hughes

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign | UIUC · Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition

The microbial cells colonizing the human body form an ecosystem that is integral to the regulation and maintenance of human health. Elucidation of specific associations between the human microbiome and health outcomes is facilitating the development of microbiome-targeted recommendations and treatments (e.g., fecal microbiota transplant; pre-, pro-...

Purpose: We aimed to assess whether total daily physical activity (PA), PA intensities, sedentary time (ST) and prolonged ST are associated with differences in the gut microbiota composition or short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) profile of adults with overweight or obesity. Methods: Cross-sectional associations between total daily PA (counts per minu...

Objectives To assess whether physical activity (PA) volume and intensities are associated with differences in the gut microbiota composition or short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) profile of adults with overweight or obesity. Methods PA data and fecal samples collected pre-intervention for the Persea americana for Total Health (PATH) study were used to...

Dietary fiber has numerous health benefits, such as increasing satiety, and is regularly included in healthy dietary recommendations. However, different types and sources of fiber vary in their chemical properties and biological effects. This double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover study investigated the effects of resistant starch...

Inulin-type fructans (ITF), including short-chain fructooligosaccharides (scFOS), oligofructose, and inulin, are commonly used fibers that are widely regarded as prebiotic for their ability to be selectively utilized by the intestinal microbiota to confer a health benefit. However, the literature thus far lacks a thorough discussion of the evidence...

The athlete's goal is to optimize their performance. Towards this end, nutrition has been used to improve the health of athletes' brains, bones, muscles, and cardiovascular system. However, recent research suggests that the gut and its resident microbiota may also play a role in athlete health and performance. Therefore, athletes should consider di...

This review provides an overview of the interrelationships among the diet, gut microbiota and health status, and then focuses specifically on published research assessing the relationship of low/no-calorie sweeteners (LNCS) to selected aspects of the gut microbiota. Microbiome research is expanding as new data on its role in health and disease vuln...

Protein intake above the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) and resistance training are known anabolic stimuli to support healthy aging. Specifically, protein supplementation after resistance exercise and nightly are strategies to maximize utilization of protein intake above the RDA in healthy adults. As such, the primary objective was to examine...

The majority of research on the physiological effects of dietary resistant starch type 2 (RS2) has focused on sources derived from high-amylose maize. In this study, we conduct a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover trial investigating the effects of RS2 from wheat on glycemic response, an important indicator of metabolic health,...

An unhealthy gut microbial community may act as a barrier to improvement in growth and health outcomes in response to nutritional interventions. The objective of this analysis was to determine whether the infant microbiota modified the effects of a randomized controlled trial of lipid-based nutrient supplements (LNS) in Malawi on growth and inflamm...

Objectives The objective of this analysis is to determine whether intake of wheat products high in resistant starch (RS) increase satiety relative to conventional wheat products via blunting of the glycemic response and stimulation of hormones such as glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), peptide YY (PYY), glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP...

The gut microbiome is a key factor in determining inter-individual variability in response to diet. Thus, far, research in this area has focused on metabolic health outcomes such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. However, understanding the role of the gut microbiome in determining response to diet may also lead to improved personalization of sports n...

Introduction HDL is associated with increased longevity and protection from multiple chronic diseases. The major HDL protein ApoA-I has a half-life of about 4 days, however, the effects of diet on the composition of HDL particles at this time scale have not been studied. Objectives The objective of this study is to investigate the short term dieta...

Health care is increasingly focused on health at the individual level. In the rapidly evolving field of precision nutrition, researchers aim to identify how genetics, epigenetics, and the microbiome interact to shape an individual's response to diet. With this understanding, personalized responses can be predicted and dietary advice can be tailored...

The gut microbiota is increasingly implicated in the health and metabolism of its human host. The host's diet is a major component influencing the composition and function of the gut microbiota, and mounting evidence suggests that the composition and function of the gut microbiota influence the host's metabolic response to diet. This effect of the...

Objectives: The objective of the study is to determine whether features of individuals' baseline gut microbiota modify the effect of a resistant starch (RS) intervention on post-prandial glycemic response and other metabolic markers that have been linked to gut microbial action (i.e., short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), bile acids, breath hydrogen/met...

HDL (high density lipoprotein) is the key mediator in reverse cholesterol transport. Recent research has also shown that it plays a role in immune modulation. Diet has a significant impact on the HDL lipidome, which is associated with HDL's function. In this present study, we examined the effects of two common diets, the fast food (FF) diet and the...

Background The human gut microbiome has been widely studied in the context of human health and metabolism, however the question of how to analyze this community remains contentious. This study compares new and previously well established methods aimed at reducing bias in bioinformatics analysis (QIIME 1 and DADA2) and bacterial DNA extraction of hu...