Gut health & digestion
Growing up alongside a sibling with Crohn's tracked four times the risk of getting it
Siblings of people with Crohn's disease are known to be at higher risk, and genes were the obvious explanation. Comparing childhood exposure with adult exposure separates the shared genes from the shared childhood.
Sep 4, 2026
A whole-food exclusion diet put 69% of Crohn's patients into remission across 17 studies
Crohn's disease is normally treated with drugs, and the liquid-only diet that works is almost impossible to stick to. Pooling 17 studies, a diet built from ordinary food matched it, and beat both a control diet and the Mediterranean diet.
Sep 1, 2026
Four healthy eating patterns each tracked about 12% less acid reflux across 183,878 adults
Reflux advice is a list of foods to avoid. Following 183,878 UK adults for 13 years, the Mediterranean, MIND and DASH patterns and a gut-focused diet index each tracked lower risk, while an inflammatory pattern tracked more.
Sep 1, 2026
A microbiome-guided diet held its IBS benefit at a year, while low-FODMAP relapsed
The low-FODMAP diet works for irritable bowel syndrome in the short term, and nobody knew what happens after. Followed for 12 months without further support, its gains had gone. A diet built from each person's gut bacteria kept them.
Sep 1, 2026
Viscous soluble fiber eased constipation on the strongest evidence in 17 trials of 1,423 adults
A Food & Function review pooled 17 randomized trials and 1,423 adults to rank fiber against fiber rather than against nothing. Viscous soluble fiber beat placebo on difficulty passing stool at high certainty, the strongest grade in the paper.
Aug 26, 2026
Psyllium showed the clearest benefit for irritable bowel syndrome across 30 trials
A meta-analysis pooled 30 trials and 1,904 people with irritable bowel syndrome. 52% responded to fiber against 44% on placebo, and the benefit was clearest for psyllium. A separate symptom-score analysis found nothing.
Aug 18, 2026
Artificial sweeteners linked to worse blood-sugar control
A Tufts meta-analysis of 21 randomized trials found even against water or a placebo, non-nutritive sweeteners were tied to higher fasting insulin and a worse long-term blood-sugar marker. These are metabolic markers, not proof of disease.
Jul 23, 2026
Does sauerkraut fight inflammation? A trial says mostly no
A randomized crossover trial in 87 healthy adults found daily sauerkraut did little for inflammation or the gut barrier over four weeks. The one signal, a small drop in blood pressure, showed up even when the bacteria were dead.
Jul 23, 2026
What coffee does to your gut and mood, beyond the caffeine
Irish researchers compared 31 coffee drinkers with 31 non-drinkers, then tracked what changed when people took up caffeinated or decaf coffee. Both shifted the gut microbiome. Decaf was linked to better memory, caffeine to sharper focus.
Jul 22, 2026