After two decades of scientific exploration, the human microbiome has emerged as a critical determinant of health and disease. Fueled by multi-omics technologies and machine learning, the field has advanced from correlation-based observations to establishing causal relationships. This article presents recent and compelling examples of microbiome-based treatments that are ripe for clinical adoption and discusses challenges and opportunities facing the field based on expert interviews conducted by the GMFH team.
Best practices for designing better clinical trials of probiotics and prebiotics
27 Mar 2025by Andreu Prados
Diet can impact the efficacy of prebiotics and probiotics. A new perspective article in Nature Microbiology makes 10 recommendations for designing, conducting, and reporting clinical trials of prebiotics and probiotics that support best practices in microbiome research.
Explore cutting-edge research on the gut microbiome with the GMFH 2022 Year at a Glance report
21 Feb 2023by GMFH Editing Team
Significant strides have been made in our comprehension of the role of the gut microbiome in health and disease throughout the year 2022. We invite you to take a closer look at the "2022 Year at a Glance" report and learn about the groundbreaking discoveries made.
Where do we stand in the management of IBS? Highlights from “IBS days 2022” in Bologna
18 Jul 2022by Giada De Palma
The third edition of IBS DAYS 2022 provided current advances and a look to future therapeutic approaches on the rapidly advancing field of irritable bowel syndrome. This article summarizes major highlights on diet and gut microbiome interactions of relevance for IBS.
Fermented foods show potential in increasing gut microbial diversity and modulating immune responses
22 Nov 2021by Konstantina Zafeiropoulou
Fermented foods, such as yogurt, kefir, kimchi and kombucha, have gained increasing popularity on the market shelves and consumers’ basket. Scientists at Stanford University elucidate how fermented foods may alter gut microbiota profile and reduce inflammatory markers.
Should dietary guidelines advise consumers to deliberately include safe microorganisms in their diets?
18 Jan 2021by Andreu Prados
While for almost all of human evolution our food and water have contained large numbers of microorganisms, the industrialized human diet contains low microbial numbers. So are we ready to recommend a specific daily intake of microbes?
The baseline gut microbiota is not always a good predictor of clinical response to a low FODMAP diet or probiotics
30 Nov 2020by GMFH Editing Team
Diet is becoming increasingly popular as a means of managing IBS symptoms. A new study in 95 adults with IBS examines diet-gut microbiota associations and concludes that baseline gut microbiota is not a good predictor of clinical response to a low FODMAP diet or probiotic intervention.
Why does context matter in the relationships between the human gut microbiome and host lifestyle and diet?
16 Nov 2020by GMFH Editing Team
Host lifestyle and diet are known to have a significant impact on the gut microbiome. A large observational study across 3400 individuals shows that, beyond interindividual variability, gut microbiome heterogeneity may play a role in individual responses to diet, lifestyle and medication.
The inflammatory potential of diet is tied to Crohn’s disease risk but not to ulcerative colitis, suggests a new observational study
2 Nov 2020by Rene van den Wijngaard
Despite the fact that current guidelines for managing inflammatory bowel diseases do not devote attention to diet as a central element of treatment, there is an increasing amount of evidence that supports the role of diet in patients with IBD. A new nationwide cohort study shows the association between the level of inflammatory potential in diet and risk of Crohn’s disease.
Irritable bowel syndrome is one of the most common disorders diagnosed by gastroenterologists. Peppermint oil, specific probiotics, psyllium supplementation, first-line IBS dietary advice, and a low FODMAP diet can aid in improving IBS symptoms.
