Digestion News and Research

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Digestion is the mechanical and chemical breaking down of food into smaller components, to a form that can be absorbed, for instance, into a blood stream. Digestion is a form of catabolism; a break-down of macro food molecules to smaller ones.

New $10 million initiative aims to tailor diets for Canadians living with IBD

Over 300,000 Canadians live with chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), including Crohn's and ulcerative colitis.

23 Sep 2025

Orforglipron pill improves heart and metabolic risk factors in trial

Patients taking an experimental oral GLP-1 drug lost significant weight and improved their heart and metabolic risk factors in a large, international, phase 3 clinical trial led by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine, McMaster University, York University and other institutions.

22 Sep 2025

Oral GLP-1 drug orforglipron achieves significant weight loss in global trial

Patients taking an experimental oral GLP-1 drug lost significant weight and improved their heart and metabolic risk factors in a large, international, phase III clinical trial led by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine, McMaster University, York University and other institutions

18 Sep 2025

Oral microbiome linked to threefold higher pancreatic cancer risk

Twenty-seven species of bacteria and fungi among the hundreds that live in people's mouths have been collectively tied to a 3.5 times greater risk of developing pancreatic cancer, a study led by NYU Langone Health and its Perlmutter Cancer Center shows.

18 Sep 2025

GLP-1 drugs found to protect against diabetic retinopathy

GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs protect against diabetic retinopathy, a common complication of diabetes that can lead to sight loss, suggests new research being presented at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Vienna, Austria (15-19 September) and published in the journal Pharmaceutics.

17 Sep 2025

Mushrooms deliver nutrition medicine and sustainability solutions in one package

This Food Science & Nutrition review highlights mushrooms as nutrient-rich functional foods packed with bioactive compounds that support human health. It explores their therapeutic, industrial, and environmental applications, from disease prevention and drug discovery to bioremediation and bioenergy.

8 Sep 2025

How fiber intake shapes your gut microbes’ digestion strategy

A study reveals how gut bacteria shift from fiber to mucus digestion, linking this change to inflammation in healthy adults and introducing the Muc2Plant ratio.

5 Sep 2025

Study: Not all dietary proteins are digested equally in the gut

As protein-rich diets become increasingly popular, a new study suggests that categorizing dietary proteins as either animal- or plant-based fails to effectively capture the source-specific differences in their composition, digestive efficiency and accessibility to the gut microbiota.

4 Sep 2025

Chronic stress and fatty diet disrupt brain-liver circuit leading to diabetes

This study discovered a circuit in the brain that connects stress with increased glucose and therefore may link stress to type 2 diabetes. In stressful situations, this circuit from the amygdala to the liver naturally provides a burst of energy.

3 Sep 2025

How raspberry leaf tea reduces insulin surges from table sugar

Trial shows that raspberry leaf tea blunts sucrose-induced glucose and insulin surges, offering a natural strategy for moderating blood sugar without the side effects of pharmaceutical enzyme inhibitors.

2 Sep 2025

Single-cell transcriptomics reveals new players in liver regeneration

The liver is remarkable for its ability to regenerate after injury, yet when this process fails, acute liver failure (ALF) carries devastating outcomes.

2 Sep 2025

Compounds show significant inhibitory effects on α-glucosidase

Three of the compounds demonstrated significant inhibitory effects on α-glucosidase, a key enzyme in carbohydrate digestion. The findings could pave the way for new functional food ingredients targeting type 2 diabetes.

2 Sep 2025

Gut disorders forecast Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s risk years before diagnosis

Study maps clinical, genetic, and proteomic links between gut-brain disorders and neurodegeneration, showing how diabetes, vitamin D deficiency, and bowel disorders forecast Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s years in advance. Multimodal models in biobanks highlight early detection and personalized prevention opportunities.

28 Aug 2025

New swallowable device enables noninvasive gut nerve stimulation

Scientists have long struggled with how to study the gut's vast nervous system - often called the body's 'second brain' - without damaging it.

28 Aug 2025

GLP-1 receptor agonists improve heart failure outcomes and reduce environmental impact

New research has found that the use of GLP-1 receptor agonists, a class of medications commonly prescribed for patients with obesity and diabetes, reduces the environmental footprint of healthcare and clinical outcomes when used to treat heart failure.

27 Aug 2025

Yogurt intake and hot spring bathing together improve gut health

Researchers at Kyushu University have demonstrated that yogurt intake increases the diversity of gut microbiota and alters its composition.

22 Aug 2025

Elevated TMAO levels linked to higher risk of abdominal aortic aneurysms

Cleveland Clinic researchers have discovered a connection between elevated blood levels of TMAO (trimethylamine N-oxide) - a byproduct of gut bacteria digestion of nutrients found in red meat and other animal products - and a higher risk of abdominal aortic aneurysms.

20 Aug 2025

Could chlorophyll become the next antidiabetic therapy?

Research highlights chlorophyll's role in blood sugar regulation and insulin mimicry, though safety risks and lack of human trials warrant caution.

20 Aug 2025

Study shows promising anti-diabetic potential of coffee's functional components

18 Aug 2025

Eating over 60g of almonds a day may protect DNA and cut oxidative damage

A meta-analysis of eight clinical trials found that almond supplementation, especially at doses above 60 g/day, significantly reduced oxidative DNA and lipid damage and improved antioxidant enzyme activity in adults. The benefits varied by biomarker and were influenced by dose, preparation, and participant characteristics.

14 Aug 2025