‘Social-media testimonials claim that improving your “gut health” not only helps with stomach issues such as bloating and pain but also leads to benefits beyond the gastrointestinal system (easing problems including, but not limited to, itching, puffy face, slow-growing hair, low energy, acne, weight gain, and anxiety). You can now find a staggering range of products claiming to support digestive health: Joining traditionally gut-friendly fermented foods such as yogurt and sauerkraut are “probiotic” or “prebiotic” teas, cookies, gummies, supplements, powders, and even sodas…
Maintaining the health of the gastrointestinal tract, like the health of any body part, is always a good idea. But expecting certain foods and products to overhaul gut health is unrealistic, as is believing that they will guarantee greater overall well-being…’ (The Atlantic)
There is no clear definition of a healthy gut microbiome, and surely what balances the gut will differ from person to person. To sell a product because it promotes ‘gut health’ is to sell snake oil. “A lot of probiotics are unlikely to contain viable bacteria, and probably very few of them are really making it through to the colon,” Columbia gastroenterologist Daniel Freedberg said. Never mind the claimed causal relationship between gut health and overall health or mental health.
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