Heritage diets are disappearing as food systems homogenize; their effects on immunity, metabolism and host–microbiome biology remain poorly understood. The World Diet Initiative offers a framework to document heritage diets and investigate their effects before they are lost. Spinosa, J. P., Lee, D. C., Duraj, T. & Seyfried, T. N. Nutr. Metab. 22 , 123 (2025). Jones, J. P. H., Abdullah, M. M. H., Wood, D. & Jones, P. J. H. Food Nutr. Res . 63 , (2019). This Comment was enabled in part by collaboration within the Africa–Europe Cluster of Research Excellence “Translational Research in Infection, Immunity and Inflammation” (Tri-I), led by the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) and The Guild of European Research-intensive Universities. The authors also acknowledge funding from ZonMw (the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development) for the TransMic and TransInf studies (grant 5290162210003), which informed the development of the scientific rationale for the World Diet Initiative.
Heritage diets are disappearing as food systems homogenize; their effects on immunity, metabolism and host–microbiome biology remain poorly understood. The World Diet Initiative offers a framework to document heritage diets and investigate their effects before they are lost.
Spinosa, J. P., Lee, D. C., Duraj, T. & Seyfried, T. N. Nutr. Metab. 22 , 123 (2025).
Jones, J. P. H., Abdullah, M. M. H., Wood, D. & Jones, P. J. H. Food Nutr. Res . 63 , (2019).
This Comment was enabled in part by collaboration within the Africa–Europe Cluster of Research Excellence “Translational Research in Infection, Immunity and Inflammation” (Tri-I), led by the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) and The Guild of European Research-intensive Universities. The authors also acknowledge funding from ZonMw (the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development) for the TransMic and TransInf studies (grant 5290162210003), which informed the development of the scientific rationale for the World Diet Initiative.
Department of Internal Medicine, Radboudumc Research Institute for Medical Innovation, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Department of Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, KCMC University, Moshi, Tanzania
School of Public Health and Social Sciences, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS), Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda
Nitte University Centre for Science Education & Research, Paneer campus, Nitte (Deemed to be University), Deralakatte, Mangalore, India
Department of Nutrition Science, Faculty of Medicine, Diponegoro University, Central Java, Indonesia
Department of Medical Genetics and Department of Translational Immunology, Medfuture Institute for Biomedical Research, “Iuliu Hațieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Human Genomics Laboratory, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, Craiova, Romania
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Laboratory of Medical Immunology, Radboud Community for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Institute for Management Research and Global Data Lab, Nijmegen School of Management, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Department of Nutrition, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Department of Medical Oncology, K. S. Hegde Medical Academy, Nitte (Deemed to be University), Deralakatte, Mangalore, India
Department of Biochemistry and Immunology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Department of Global Health and Infection, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Brighton and University of Sussex, Brighton, UK