Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

Latest Gastrointestinal Health News and Research

Energy drain from antibiotics spurs bacteria to resist treatment faster

Antibiotics are supposed to wipe out bacteria, yet the drugs can sometimes hand microbes an unexpected advantage.

9 Jun 2025

New study warns of long-term risks from fecal microbiota transplants

Fecal microbiota transplants (FMT) have been touted as a potential treatment for a variety of conditions, from inflammatory bowel diseases, obesity, and type 2 diabetes to autism.

6 Jun 2025

Eating more pulses and vegetables lowers stress by boosting beneficial gut bacteria, study finds

Higher diet quality, especially with more pulses and vegetables, was linked to greater Lachnospira abundance in the gut and lower stress scores among Japanese adults. The relationship appears to be mediated by specific gut bacteria rather than a direct effect of diet on stress.

6 Jun 2025

Maternal exposure to metals rewires infants’ gut and resistance genes

Prenatal exposure to trace elements like selenium, copper, and arsenic can significantly alter the infant gut microbiome, metabolism, and antibiotic resistance gene patterns. These changes appear as early as three months and evolve during the first year of life.

5 Jun 2025

New Japanese database reveals how gut microbes and diet connect

Researchers have launched the NIBN Japan Microbiome Database, featuring over 2,000 gut microbiome profiles from healthy Japanese adults with extensive lifestyle and dietary metadata. This resource aims to accelerate microbiome-health research and enable precision medicine insights.

5 Jun 2025

Early gut bacteria may help protect babies from respiratory infections

A baby's makeup of gut bacteria - their microbiome - which starts to form as soon as they are born, could help protect against viral infections later in childhood, a new study suggests.

5 Jun 2025

Norovirus GII.17 overtakes GII.4 as the dominant strain in US outbreaks

Norovirus GII.17 has rapidly overtaken GII.4 as the leading cause of norovirus outbreaks in the United States between 2022 and 2025. This unprecedented shift signals an urgent need for continued genomic surveillance and preparedness for future outbreak trends.

4 Jun 2025

Breastfeeding habits barely change milk’s microbiome, study reveals

A study shows that breastfeeding frequency and duration do not significantly alter the human milk microbiome, highlighting other influencing factors.

4 Jun 2025

Back-to-basics, 'not fad' diets beat heart disease and diabetes

This review examines dietary interventions that can improve cardiometabolic health, highlighting the role of whole foods in reducing heart disease and diabetes.

4 Jun 2025

Switching to a low fat diet slows pancreatic precancer development in mice

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer, killing 87% of patients within five years. Previous studies have shown that obesity can increase pancreatic cancer risk by around 50%.

4 Jun 2025

Variability in blood sugar response depends on individual's metabolic health status

A study led by researchers at Stanford Medicine shows that differences in blood sugar responses to certain carbohydrates depend on details of an individual's metabolic health status.

4 Jun 2025

ADHD linked to higher risk of irritable bowel syndrome, global study reveals

A global meta-analysis found that people with ADHD are significantly more likely to have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), while the overall risk for other intestinal disorders is not increased. The findings highlight the importance of gut-brain interactions in ADHD and call for further research on microbiome-based therapies.

3 Jun 2025

Maternal obesity linked to children's heightened risk of infection-related hospitalizations

Children born to mothers who are very obese with a BMI of 35 or higher are at heightened risk of being admitted to hospital for an infection, finds a long term study published in the open access journal BMJ Medicine.

3 Jun 2025

Japanese study shows c-sections do not raise allergy risk in children

A Japanese study reveals cesarean births do not increase childhood allergy risk, contradicting earlier findings and highlighting the need for further research.

3 Jun 2025

Daily bean consumption linked to improved heart and metabolic health

A new study suggests that regularly eating a cup of beans a day may offer measurable benefits for heart and metabolic health.

3 Jun 2025

Phytosterols in plant-based foods linked to lower risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes

Heart disease and type 2 diabetes rank among the leading causes of death and disability in the United States, and eating a healthy diet rich in plant-based foods can help to prevent or delay both of these conditions.

3 Jun 2025

Transforming IBS treatment through psychedelic medicine

In a comprehensive Genomic Press Interview published today, Dr. Erin E. Mauney reveals how her pioneering research brings psychedelic medicine into gastroenterology for the first time, potentially transforming treatment for millions suffering from intractable irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

3 Jun 2025

Study: New mRNA vaccine is more scalable and adaptable to continuously evolving viruses

A new type of mRNA vaccine is more scalable and adaptable to continuously evolving viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and H5N1, according to a study by researchers at University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health and the Pennsylvania State University.

3 Jun 2025

How soy and gut microbes alter cancer treatment results

Researchers have discovered that plant-derived phytochemicals and their gut microbiome metabolites control the effectiveness of PI3K inhibitors in cancer therapy. The study reveals that dietary components, especially soy compounds processed by gut bacteria, can alter drug metabolism and impact treatment outcomes.

2 Jun 2025

High-fiber plant-based diet could benefit patients at risk for developing multiple myeloma

Results from a new clinical trial suggest that a high-fiber plant-based diet could benefit patients at risk for developing multiple myeloma, the second most common type of blood cancer.

2 Jun 2025