r/Microbiome • u/spamisthrowaway • 8h ago
How to promote a good microbiome
I dont like pickled things and I tried kefir and it tasted awful. Is there any other ways?
r/Microbiome • u/Kitty_xo7 • Feb 22 '25
Hi everyone!
Thank you all for engaging in the r/Microbiome sub! This post is to notify everyone about a change in rules regarding GI maps, peddling services related to them, and asking for medical advice based on GI maps.
We will not be allowing posts asking for GI map interpretations from here on out (rule 7). Microbiome science is very much in its infancy, and we have very little understanding of how to interpret an individual's microbiome sequencing results. More specifically, we actually dont know what composition of microbes make up a healthy/unhealthy microbiome, both in presence/absence of microbes, and quantities of microbes. We know very little about the actual species within the microbiome. The ones we know more about are generally only more well studied only because they are easier to work with in the lab, not because they are more inportant. We have yet to culture most microbes in the collective human microbiome, meaning we also cant accurately identify many species via sequencing. There is also tons of genetic and functional variability within species, meaning we also cannot relate individual species to good/bad outcomes.
We also need to consider limitations of these tests. In as little as 24hrs, you can have a 100 fold change in many species. This means you can get incredibly different test results day-to-day, depending on many factors like sleep, excercise, diet, etc, within the last couple hours. Someone recently described microbiome testing as throwing a rock on the highway to predict traffic at all hours-- One rock wont tell us anything on the grand scheme of things. To be frank, these tests are also very cheap in their actual sequencing. Many of our most important microbes are in low abundance, which cheap sequencing and poor analysis fails to identify. Additionally, considering your microbiome has hundreds of species and thousands of strains, cheap testing often cant accurately differentiate between species. It is quite common for poor sequencing to misidentify or mis-classify closely related species or even genus'. A common example is Shigella being mistaken for Escherichia, or vice versa.
Many of the values that the microbiome tests predict are "ideal" are also totally arbitrary. We see major differences between different quantities of microbes within you over 24hrs, you vs your family, local community, country, and continent. However, no ideal microbiomes have been found, despite millions being sequenced at this point. There is tons of diversity in the global population, but there is no "ideal" values when it comes to microbes in your gut.
Secondly, we will be banning you if you are peddling services to others via this sub. We are an open and free discussion about microbiome science, and we use evidence when talking about the microbiome. People who claim to know how to interpret individual microbiome maps are either not knowledgable when it comes to the microbiome, or are lying to you, neither of which makes them trustworthy with your health. We will not allow this sub to be a place where people are taken advantage of and lied to about what is possible at this moment in microbiome science.
Finally, we want to remind you that this is not the place to ask for medical advice. Chat with your MD if you are concerned, nobody on here is more well versed than they are on specific symptoms. They will treat you accordingly. If you are seeking help for specific microbes, such as H. pylori, this is something your MD can test for. These results are accurate and interpreted correctly (not the case for GI maps), and will be significantly more affordable than GI map testing.
We aim to be a scientifically accurate, evidence-based sub, that provides digestible conversations about this complex science. These topics are not in line with our values.
We look forward to having everyone respecting these rules moving forward.
Happy microbiome-ing! :)
r/Microbiome • u/kisforkimberlyy • Jun 29 '23
We stand with the disabled users of reddit and in our community. Starting July 1, Reddit's API policy blind/visually impaired communities will be more dependent on sighted people for moderation. When Reddit says they are whitelisting accessibility apps for the disabled, they are not telling the full story.TL;DR
If you've been living under a rock for the past few weeks:
Reddit abruptly announced that they would be charging astronomically overpriced API fees to 3rd party apps, cutting off mod tools for NSFW subreddits (not just porn subreddits, but subreddits that deal with frank discussions about NSFW topics).
And worse, blind redditors & blind mods [including mods of r/Blind and similar communities] will no longer have access to resources that are desperately needed in the disabled community.
Why does our community care about blind users?
As a mod from r/foodforthought testifies:
I was raised by a 30-year special educator, I have a deaf mother-in-law, sister with MS, and a brother who was born disabled. None vision-impaired, but a range of other disabilities which makes it clear that corporations are all too happy to cut deals (and corners) with the cheapest/most profitable option, slap a "handicap accessible" label on it, and ignore the fact that their so-called "accessible" solution puts the onus on disabled individuals to struggle through poorly designed layouts, misleading marketing, and baffling management choices. To say it's exhausting and humiliating to struggle through a world that able-bodied people take for granted is putting it lightly.
Reddit apparently forgot that blind people exist, and forgot that Reddit's official app (which has had over 9 YEARS of development) and yet, when it comes to accessibility for vision-impaired users, Reddit’s own platforms are inconsistent and unreliable. ranging from poor but tolerable for the average user and mods doing basic maintenance tasks (Android) to almost unusable in general (iOS).
Didn't reddit whitelist some "accessibility apps?"
The CEO of Reddit announced that they would be allowing some "accessible" apps free API usage: RedReader, Dystopia, and Luna.
There's just one glaring problem: RedReader, Dystopia, and Luna* apps have very basic functionality for vision-impaired users (text-to-voice, magnification, posting, and commenting) but none of them have full moderator functionality, which effectively means that subreddits built for vision-impaired users can't be managed entirely by vision-impaired moderators.
(If that doesn't sound so bad to you, imagine if your favorite hobby subreddit had a mod team that never engaged with that hobby, did not know the terminology for that hobby, and could not participate in that hobby -- because if they participated in that hobby, they could no longer be a moderator.)
Then Reddit tried to smooth things over with the moderators of r/blind. The results were... Messy and unsatisfying, to say the least.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Blind/comments/14ds81l/rblinds_meetings_with_reddit_and_the_current/
*Special shoutout to Luna, which appears to be hustling to incorporate features that will make modding easier but will likely not have those features up and running by the July 1st deadline, when the very disability-friendly Apollo app, RIF, etc. will cease operations. We see what Luna is doing and we appreciate you, but a multimillion dollar company should not have have dumped all of their accessibility problems on what appears to be a one-man mobile app developer. RedReader and Dystopia have not made any apparent efforts to engage with the r/Blind community.
Thank you for your time & your patience.
r/Microbiome • u/spamisthrowaway • 8h ago
I dont like pickled things and I tried kefir and it tasted awful. Is there any other ways?
r/Microbiome • u/Calm-Method-8207 • 6h ago
I am suffering from a condition when I eat carb or sugar I feel literally poisoned like a hangover feeling with sever fatigue and sever brain fog I feel like spaced out and fungal rashes starts to invade my body
The only thing isolated from stool is candida Glabrata and it's resiste to fluconazole...
Any help
r/Microbiome • u/tekaizen • 8h ago
Prescribed doxycycline (50mg BID) for meibomian gland dysfunction. I already have GERD and some suspected MCAS/histamine issues. Anyone else deal with gut side effects on long-term low(ish)-dose doxy for eye stuff? How long were you on it, and did probiotics/anything actually help? Trying to decide if I push back and ask my doctor for non-antibiotic alternatives instead. Thanks!
r/Microbiome • u/SockBeneficial236 • 1d ago
Has anyone tried The Coconut Cult and has hyperhidrosis?
I’ve been taking a tablespoon a day and just finished my 1st jar. The first 3-4 days my digestion became very regular and I lost about 5 lbs and less bloated.
I’ve noticed that my armpits have been starting to stink (usually I don’t smell at all when sweaty) like bad. This is the only thing I’ve changed in my day to day. Has anyone had this happen? Is it due to the probiotics?
Also have been getting random acne in places I never had it before, never had a problem with acne but think the probiotic is the result as that as well
r/Microbiome • u/Ok_Connection3207 • 1d ago
I am just so frustrated right now... I just went to the hospital in Belgium to see a different doctor for the 5th time, and when I talked about candida /SIBO and antimicrobial herbs, I was told to stop Googling and stop looking for other doctors... I was even told that SIBO/ candida isn't possible at all even though it definitely is.... He said you have to accept that you have irritable bowel syndrome.
... I am never visiting a doctor in a hospital again... I never expected this, especially since I also have low immunoglobulins, which makes me much more susceptible to bacteria/yeast in the small intestine... I feel terrible. I get ivig in another hospital.. it is a good doctor but I'm afraid that doctor will think now that I'm having other tests done again.. pfff.. I hate my life.. Its the 5the hospital that I have done…
r/Microbiome • u/-blablabla-5241 • 1d ago
I’m considering doing a Bachelor’s in Biomedical Sciences, but I’m trying to figure out how much of the degree is actually focused on the human body vs. molecular biology/lab research.
My main interest is understanding the human body as a whole — anatomy, physiology, organ systems, how they interact, and eventually disease/pathophysiology. I’m less interested in a degree that is heavily focused on molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry, or laboratory techniques.
For current Biomedical Science students or graduates:
How much human anatomy do you study?
How much human/system physiology do you study?
Do you study systems like cardiovascular, respiratory, renal, gastrointestinal, endocrine, and reproductive in reasonable depth?
Roughly how much of the degree is molecular/cellular biology, genetics, biochemistry, and lab work?
Does your degree feel more like whole-body human biology or more like molecular/disease research?
Are anatomy and physiology taught separately, or are they integrated around organ systems?
Thanks :)
r/Microbiome • u/Acrobatic_Golf9325 • 2d ago
Background/objectives: Dietary modifiers of the gut ecosystem may influence intestinal and host responses associated with psychological stress. However, it remains unclear whether sucralose, a widely consumed non-nutritive sweetener, alters host-microbiota interactions following chronic stress exposure. We investigated the effects of short-term experimental sucralose exposure in mice previously subjected to chronic restraint stress (CRS).
Methods: Following completion of the CRS protocol, mice received 0.03% or 0.1% sucralose in drinking water for 12 days. Intestinal phenotypes, cecal microbial community structure, microbial metabolites, colonic epithelial gene expression, and epithelial serotonergic responses following allyl isothiocyanate (AITC)-induced visceral stimulation were evaluated.
Results: Colon length was significantly reduced in the 0.1% sucralose group, whereas intestinal permeability remained unchanged. Sucralose selectively altered colonic epithelial gene expression and was associated with changes in cecal microbial community structure without marked changes in alpha diversity. The relative abundance of Bacteroides acidifaciens was significantly reduced, particularly in the 0.1% sucralose group. Fecal acetate and cecal tryptophan concentrations were decreased following sucralose exposure. Following AITC-induced visceral stimulation, the CRS + 0.1% sucralose group exhibited reduced immobility behavior together with increased epithelial serotonin and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid concentrations.
Conclusions: In mice previously exposed to CRS, short-term sucralose exposure was associated with colon shortening, differences in cecal microbial community structure, reduced Bacteroides acidifaciens abundance, decreased fecal acetate and cecal tryptophan concentrations, and altered epithelial serotonergic responsiveness following visceral stimulation. The behavioral and epithelial serotonergic findings suggest that prior stress exposure may influence selected host responses to sucralose. These findings provide a basis for future studies examining how dietary sweeteners modify host-microbiota interactions following chronic stress exposure
r/Microbiome • u/Equivalent_Fact_6574 • 1d ago
I've been using Just Thrive capsule bitters for 4 days now. My main goal was treating my constipation. The constipation hasn't really improved, but the bloating has reduced, and the occasional reflux I'd been getting has largely gone away. I should mention that I decided to try bitters due to many of the symptoms I've been having sounding like low stomach acid. Has anyone tried both capsules and tinctures, and if so, have you found that one works better than the other? From what little I understand liquid on the tongue stimulates the process faster than capsules.
r/Microbiome • u/Grand_Lengthiness_50 • 2d ago
A bowl of whole fat plain yogurt open the 6475 L reuteri (10 billion CFU's) mix it and eat immediately.
I was initially going to consume the capsule with water but AI says doing it like this will protect the L reuteri for optimal absorption due to the milk proteins (casein) and fats in yogurt physically coating the delicate L. reuteri powder.
Can I do this? For those wondering why not just ferment it and multiply it, I wont due to trial and error
r/Microbiome • u/student_o79 • 1d ago
r/Microbiome • u/Ok_Bag7719 • 2d ago
I have bought probiotics on and off for years and if I am honest my selection process has never been much deeper than good reviews, lots of strains and a label that sounds convincing.
The more I read, the more ridiculous that feels. Two people can have completely different guts and yet we are both standing in the same aisle choosing between the same five bottles.
I am curious if anyone here reached a point where they stopped buying general probiotic blends and started doing something more specific.
What changed your mind, and what did you do instead?
Edit: I kept digging into the more individual side of this and came across nb1.com. What interests me is that I would not choose the probiotic first. They look at my microbiome and then the probiotic/prebiotic side gets decided from there. I have not tried it yet, but it is the first setup I have seen that actually matches the question I had when I posted this.
r/Microbiome • u/mitu_begom • 2d ago
Been drinking it for about four days now as a full replacement for my daily dark roast espresso. Stomach definitely feels less bloated right now, which is a huge relief compared to how miserable I felt last week. Trying to figure out though, is this just an immediate reaction to dropping acidic coffee beans or are the mushrooms actually doing something in the background for gut health. Anyone who has been on habitone or similar blends for a month or longer, did digestion stay improved over time or did things creep back once your body adjusted to it?
r/Microbiome • u/Party_Team1104 • 3d ago
I understand bacteria eat the fibre "good bacteria", but what eats carbohydrates that are not bound to fibre? And what about added sugar / fructose.
Just curious, if anyone wants to enlighten me
r/Microbiome • u/Sad_Atmosphere5640 • 3d ago
Hi, this is my first post so not completely sure if I’m doing this right but I’m a 21 yr old female and I’m pretty sure I got cyclosporiasis in late July/early August (although I never did a stool test to confirm, but my symptoms matched up) and took Bactrim for 10 days straight after. I felt really good for about a week after finishing antibiotics and ate like total shit because of it (coffee, greasy food, etc) and then ended up feeling really sick after for another week straight with diarrhea and horrible nausea and gas. My doctor thought it might’ve been a C Diff infection but I don’t think it is because my diarrhea hasn’t been persistently watery and every stool sample I send to a lab is too formed and gets rejected. I tried to eat yogurt for probiotics and then realized it was probably hurting me because my stomach was not ready for dairy yet. I started a relatively bland diet (bread, bananas, rice, potatoes, boiled eggs) and I have seen a lot of improvement in the last week and my bowel movements have decreased in number and become more formed. I feel a lot more lively with a way better appetite. The problem is, I don’t know where to go from here. When can I reintroduce dairy? When can I start eating foods I used to eat, or foods higher in sugar or processed foods? I feel stupid and so dramatic for saying this but I’ve never gone through any serious health problems before in my life and so this has been extremely hard on me mentally. Like I just have so much anxiety that I’m going to have to life the rest of my life like this and I’m never gonna get fully better. The nausea is honestly the worst part for me; it has decreased a lot in this past week, but I still just feel *off* and I’m really scared that it’s never gonna completely leave (and I start grad school on Monday so I’m really hoping it does!) It’s been a full 2 weeks since this has started and I’m just curious if anyone else has any advice or knowledge on what a recovery timeline could look like (I know it’s probably gonna take some time to go completely back to normal). I also bought some probiotic supplement pills but I’m not sure if my gut is ready for that either. Sorry for such a long post, but literally any advice or words of reassurance help lol. Thank you guys!
r/Microbiome • u/Plenty_Respect1474 • 4d ago
I’ve tried enough little things that seemed to help for a few days and then basically disappeared.
I’m more interested now in what actually changed things over months.
For you was it diet, fiber, probiotics, fermented foods, exercise, something else?
Edit : After all the replies I did a deeper dive and came across NB1. I’m interested because the microbiome analysis actually feeds into what I’d take afterwards instead of just ending with a report. From my understanding they send me a kit, I return the sample, and then they build the daily gut/supplement routine around the readout.
r/Microbiome • u/dynamicgerl • 3d ago
My brand changed the top strain
Still got mtcc5856 and de111 but they’ve changed one strain to a more constipating one and also has no benefit on immune system
Pls recommend your spores!
Additives can be an issue but pls fire me your spores!