Trends in nutritional science are rapidly shifting as information regarding the value of eating unprocessed foods and its salutary effect on the human microbiome emerge. Unravelling the evolution and ecology by which humans have harboured a microbiome that participates in every facet of health and disease is daunting. Most strikingly, the host habitat has sought out naturally occurring foodstuff that can fulfil its own metabolic needs and also the needs of its microbiota, each of which remain inexorably connected to one another. With the introduction of modern medicine and complexities of critical care, came the assumption that the best way to feed a critically ill patient is by delivering fibre-free chemically defined sterile liquid foods (that is, total enteral nutrition). In this Perspective, we uncover the potential flaws in this assumption and discuss how emerging technology in microbiome sciences might inform the best method of feeding malnourished and critically ill patients.

随着有关食用未加工食品的价值及其对人类微生物群的有益影响的信息的出现，营养科学的趋势正在迅速转变。揭示人类拥有参与健康和疾病各个方面的微生物组的进化和生态学是令人生畏的。最引人注目的是，宿主栖息地已经找到了能够满足自身代谢需求和微生物群需求的天然食物，每一种都保持着不可阻挡的相互联系。随着现代医学的引入和重症监护的复杂性，人们假设喂养重症患者的最佳方式是提供不含纤维的化学成分无菌液体食品（即全肠内营养）。在这个观点中，