We continue our series on the gut axis, this time focusing on the gut-skin connection. You might have noticed it yourself—how a heavy, sugary meal can lead to breakouts the next day, or how certain food allergies can trigger rashes. This is the gut-skin axis at work, demonstrating an association between the health of our gut and the condition of our skin, and vice versa.

You are probably familiar with the gut-brain connection. But did you know that your gut and lungs are in constant conversation? Scientists call this connection the gut-lung axis. Both the gut and lungs are mucosal organs—while the gut absorbs nutrients from food, the lungs absorb gases like oxygen from the air.

Dietary fibers, known to regulate intestinal inflammation and gut barrier functions, have been avoided by patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) to avoid flare-ups. However, recent findings suggest that if fiber type, patient immunological condition, and the fermentative ability of the gut microbiota are taken into account, they could be beneficial and prevent relapses.

Restricting dietary fiber is a common advice for people living with inflammatory bowel disease. New research shows that not all fibers work the same and their impact on intestinal inflammation and gut barrier function depends on the type of fiber, individual immune status and the fermentative capacity of their gut microbes.

Rural living, vaginal delivery, pet ownership, eating a wide variety of foods, low antibiotic use, and breast milk microbiota can prevent your children from developing a respiratory or food allergy. But what if differences in the gut microbiota could predict which children will grow out of their allergies?

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.

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