Claims about "improving the gut microbiome" are widespread, but what would improvement actually mean? How do we establish which microbial changes contribute to disease, and which simply reflect it?
Research on bacterial metabolism of medications raises questions about how the microbiome might influence treatment efficacy and toxicity. What would it take to translate these findings into reliable tests and effective therapies?
In this episode, gastroenterologist and researcher Prof. Harry Sokol examines these questions, discusses the development of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii as an investigational treatment, and considers what current evidence can tell us about dietary advice and commercial microbiome testing.
