The webinar “Probiotics for better quality of life” took place on 6 November 2020, with the participation of keynote speaker Joël Doré, Director of INRAE, French National Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment). The webinar moderators were Sylvie Binda, Chairwoman of the IPA Europe Scientific Working Group and member of the IPA Scientific Committee, and Bruno Pot, also member of the Scientific WG and of the IPA Scientific Committee. The webinar was organised by IPA Europe and the 11th Congress on Probiotics, Prebiotics and New Foods.
The webinar was a well attended event that generated insight on the importance of the microbiota in supporting health, and on the role that probiotic foods can play in disease prevention.
The topic “Probiotics for better quality of life” was introduced by Prof. Lucio Capurso, Professor of Gastroenterology, since 1998 chair of the “Probiotics, Prebiotics and New Food” International Congress in Rome, Italy. The Congress will hold it’s 11th edition in 2021 in Rome.
Dr. Joël Doré made the keynote presentation “Understanding probiotics for a better quality of life”. Dr. Doré is Research Director at INRAE in a Unit of the Micalis Institute “Food and Gut Microbiology for Human Health”. He is also Scientific Director of MetaGenoPolis-INRAE, associated with the University of Paris Saclay.
The presentation was focused on the influence of diet on the gut microbiota and its consequences for the individual’s health. Recent studies support the concept that diet should be viewed as a means to prevent potentially durable alterations of symbiosis, as observed in immune-mediated metabolic and inflammatory diseases. In this respect, Dr. Doré indicated that the potential of probiotics to prevent disease should be further explored; he also confirmed that numerous studies on probiotics document efficacy, some with high level of evidence.
The presentation was followed by a lively Q&A session, where participants had the possibility to exchange with the IPA Europe scientific experts, Sylvie Binda and Bruno Pot, and with Dr. Joël Doré on some of the most common questions on probiotics.