Dietary Bioactives and Health: The Road Ahead Dietary and nutritional guidelines are integral to creating comprehensive public health policies. Research on dietary bioactives that may promote human health has generated dramatic conceptual shifts in recent years due to the emergence of at least two key scientific paradigms: the role of epigenetics in nutrient–gene interactions and the influence of the gut microbiome. Dietary bioactives are an important component of public health research; however, because some areas of research are still in their infancy, the profound biological influences of underlying genetic, environmental (including the gut microbiome), and epigenetic events on public health frequently have been neglected. Some possible implications of our current understanding of the role of dietary bioactives are highlighted. |