CURRENT GLOBAL CONSUMPTION OF FRUITS IS WELL BELOW USDA RECOMMENDATIONS, AND EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT OF ALL FOOD GROUPS, FRUITS HAVE THE STRONGEST INVERSE RELATIONSHIP TO PREVENTION OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES. NUMEROUS OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES ALSO SUGGEST THAT INVERSE RELATIONSHIPS EXIST BETWEEN INTAKE OF FRUITS AND TYPE 2 DIABETES, SOME CANCERS, AND ALL-CAUSE MORTALITY. ADDITIONALLY, A GROWING BODY OF CLINICAL EVIDENCE (MOSTLY SMALL RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIALS) DEMONSTRATES POSITIVE EFFECTS OF SPECIFIC FRUITS ON CERTAIN RISK FACTORS FOR CHRONIC DISEASES, COGNITIVE HEALTH AND MOTOR CONTROL; HOWEVER, LITTLE RESEARCH ON THE AVAILABLE USDA RECOMMENDATIONS HAS BEEN CONDUCTED AND MUCH MORE RESEARCH ON THE ROLE OF OVERALL INCREASED CONSUMPTION OF FRUITS FOR IMPROVED HEALTH AND SPECIFIC DISEASE PREVENTION STRATEGIES IS STILL NEEDED. THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS STUDY ARE TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF FRUIT CONSUMPTION ON THE GUT MICROBIOTA AND THEIR COLLECTIVE FECAL AND PLASMA METABOLOMES, VASCULAR ANDCARDIOMETABOLIC FUNCTIONS, COGNITION, AND MOTOR CONTROL. OUR FINDINGS WILL PROVIDE DATA CRITICAL TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE EFFECTS OF FRUIT INTAKE ON THE GUT MICROBIOME AND THE CAPACITY OF THE MICROBIOTA TO BIOTRANSFORM NUTRIENTS CONTAINED WITHIN FRUITS AS WELL AS THE SUBSEQUENT IMPACT ON CIRCULATING STATUS OF THOSE METABOLITES. CONCURRENTLY, WE WILL ASSESS HEALTH OUTCOMES THAT MAY BE LINKED TO THESE CHANGES INCLUDING COGNITION, MOTOR CONTROL, VASCULAR FUNCTION AND CARDIOMETABOLIC HEALTH RISK MARKERS IN HEALTHY ADULTS. THE PROPOSED INVESTIGATION WILL IMPROVE OUR KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE IMPACT OF FRUIT CONSUMPTION ON THE GUT MICROBIOTA IN AN EFFORT TO IMPROVE HUMAN HEALTH.