The Effect of Increasing Dietary Protein on the Gut Microbiome and Its Metabolites

This study will determine the effect of dietary protein not absorbed in the small intestine on the bacteria in the large intestine and the metabolites those bacteria produce when they break down the protein. The three specific goals are: 1. Determine if increasing dietary protein increases the purine breakdown product, allantoin, as observed in our previous study. 2. Establish a model to examine the effect of dietary protein on the gut microbiota and metabolites. 3. Identify gut bacteria and metabolite changes that occur with increased consumption of animal (whey) or plant (pea) protein sources.