Gut Health
The latest from Gut Health on Vitalspell.
Inulin for knee osteoarthritis: what the 2026 trial found
Inulin for knee osteoarthritis reduced pain over six weeks in a 117-person trial, but the gut-joint mechanism and lasting benefit remain unproven.
Psyllium husk for constipation: what the evidence says
Trial and meta-analysis evidence suggests psyllium can help chronic constipation, especially for stool softness and regularity, but dose, timing and fluid intake matter.
Why prebiotics may work differently on different guts
Prebiotic fiber response may depend on baseline intake. A 124-man trial showed resistant dextrin shifted gut bacteria, with larger changes in high-fiber eaters.
How a few medical visits reshaped gut microbes in remote Amazonian communities
Amazonian gut microbiome changes came fast after a few medical visits, raising harder questions about essential care, microbial diversity and consent.
Could prebiotic fibre backfire in multiple sclerosis?
Prebiotic fibre in multiple sclerosis looked less protective in a 2026 microbiome paper, but the signal points to fermentation capacity, not fibre alone.
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Could infant gut microbes shape later ADHD risk?
A new birth-cohort paper linked one-week Bifidobacterium patterns and a microbial metabolite to ADHD diagnoses at age 10. Here is what the data does, and does not, say.
Eating after 9 p.m. under stress may strain the gut
New evidence suggests late-night eating under stress may track with worse bowel symptoms and lower microbiome diversity, but the case for causality is still incomplete.
Can probiotics sometimes make gut symptoms worse for some people?
Probiotics can trigger short-term gas, bloating or cramping, and in some people with IBS, IBD or SIBO-like symptoms they may be the wrong tool. The evidence is more specific than the marketing.
Should healthy adults take a daily probiotic? What the evidence says
The strongest probiotic evidence is still narrow: specific strains for specific problems. For otherwise healthy adults, the best reviews do not support a default daily capsule.
One Gut Bacterium, Two Kilos Kept Off — But the Trial Was Small
A Nature Medicine RCT found pasteurized Akkermansia muciniphila MucT reduced weight regain by two-thirds compared to placebo across 24 weeks. The mechanism is specific, the effect is real, and the evidence is still incomplete.
Selective eating reshapes the autism gut microbiome — and not for the better
A 96-child study finds restrictive eating patterns in ASD drive up inflammatory gut bacteria, sharpening a decade-old debate about whether dysbiosis causes autism symptoms or simply reflects what children eat.
Probiotics and diet together reduced gut inflammation in autistic children
Two new studies strengthen the case that probiotics combined with dietary changes can reduce intestinal inflammation in children with autism spectrum disorder — but behavioural benefits remain unproven.
Psychobiotics work strain-by-strain on mental health, 14-trial review finds
A 2026 narrative review of 14 randomized trials in Frontiers in Microbiology finds psychobiotic probiotics produce strain- and context-specific effects on stress, sleep, anxiety, and depression rather than universal mood improvements.
Akkermansia muciniphila: what the evidence actually says about the internet's favorite probiotic
Akkermansia muciniphila has attracted more supplement-industry attention than any microbe since Lactobacillus. Here is what the human trials actually show about weight loss, blood sugar, gut barrier repair, and the other claims being made.
Starch- and sucrose-reduced diet tops low FODMAP for IBS symptoms in network meta-analysis
A 2025 Lancet network meta-analysis of 28 trials finds a starch- and sucrose-reduced diet outperforms low FODMAP for global IBS symptoms, with a 59% risk reduction versus habitual diet.
GOS prebiotic shifted gut microbiome and brain GABA in young women, but anxiety scores held steady
A 28-day randomized trial found that galacto-oligosaccharides increased Bifidobacterium abundance and altered brain GABA levels in young women, but produced no measurable drop in anxiety. The disconnect between biological signal and subjective experience is where the gut-brain axis field remains stuck.
Lion's Mane improved visual attention and sleep in 8-week RCT of 109 adults
A new randomized controlled trial posted to medRxiv found that 2 grams of Hericium erinaceus per day improved visual attention, working memory, sleep quality, and mood in adults aged 40 to 75 with subjective cognitive complaints. The effect sizes were modest and the study was funded by the supplement's manufacturer.
Circadian and gut-brain program improved recovery after rectal cancer surgery
A perioperative behavioral program combining mindfulness, biofeedback, CBT-I, and timed melatonin was associated with lower inflammation, better sleep, and an exploratory survival signal in 184 rectal cancer patients. Two trials from the same Chinese research group now point toward circadian rhythm as a modifiable target in surgical recovery.
A high-fiber diet barely moved the rectal microbiome, except for two CRC-linked bacteria
A four-year randomized trial found that a rigorous high-fiber, high-produce, low-fat diet had almost no effect on the bacterial community living in rectal tissue, but two oral-originating bacteria previously tied to colorectal cancer dropped more in the diet group than in controls.
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