The Medical Advisor

Probiotics are living microorganisms that offer lots of health benefits if consumed in sufficient amounts, such as balancing the “good” bacteria in your digestive system, strengthening immune system, and lowering the risk and severity of diarrhoea. Many studies also linked probiotics with improvement in mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, and stress. The global gut health is predicted to grow by around 8% annually at least to the end of the decade. There are a number of factors combining to drive growth in the gut and digestive health market. One is that consumers are increasingly aware of the importance of gut health and comfort, and that they can, to some extent, manage that themselves through food choices and supplements. This is linked to the fact that global populations are ageing, and more and more people are living with chronic gastric disorders. At the same time, scientists are gaining better understanding of both the importance of the gut (microbiome) on huma...

Yes — the gut bacterium Akkermansia muciniphila is increasingly recognized as a biomarker predicting response to cancer immunotherapy. This is one of the most important discoveries in microbiome-oncology in the past decade. Below is a clear scientific overview of what the research shows. Patients with Akkermansia respond better to checkpoint inhibitors Multiple studies have shown that cancer patients whose gut microbiome contains Akkermansia respond better to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) such as anti-PD-1 or anti-PD-L1 therapies. In a clinical cohort of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients: Higher levels of Akkermansia were associated with disease stabilization or partial response Patients without the bacterium were more likely to have disease progression during immunotherapy ( PubMed ). Another analysis found that  intestinal Akkermansia presence predicted clinical response to PD-1 blockade  in advanced lung cancer patients ( Biocodex Microbiota Institute )....

Probiotics are a combination of live microorganisms, while prebiotics are non-digestible food ingredients. Both probiotics and prebiotics are essential for digestive health and overall wellness. Probiotics help to promote the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut, while prebiotics can help to feed those beneficial bacteria and support a healthy balance of bacteria in the digestive tract.  The Connection Between Gut Inflammation and Weight Gain Gut health is one factor that affects inflammation. An unbalanced microbiota adds to the type of inflammation that supports weight gain and fluid retention, which makes losing weight extremely difficult. This is why rebalancing gut microbes become one of the main keys to weight management which can be helped by probiotics. Lactobacillus Gasseri and Weight Loss Lactobacillus gasseri, of all the probiotic bacteria examined so far, shows some of the most promising weight-loss effects. It has been shown in numerous animal experiments that it h...

More attention than ever is being put on your gut health, and understandably so, considering a significant proportion of your immune system resides in your gastrointestinal tract (1). As such, optimizing your gut microbiome is a worthwhile pursuit that will have far-reaching effects on your physical health and emotional well-being. Mounting scientific evidence also continues to suggest a large component of nutrition centers on nourishing health-promoting bacteria in your gut (and elsewhere in and on your body). In doing so, you keep harmful microbes in check and shore up your protection against chronic disease. Update: Best Supplements and Diet for Gut Health : Evidence-Based Guide for 2026 Disease Begins in Your Gut ADHD, autism, learning disabilities, obesity, diabetes (2) and Parkinson's disease are but a few of the conditions found to be influenced by your gut microbiome. One 2020 scientific review (3) goes so far as to say that all inflammatory disease begins in the gut. Part ...