Social media’s gut feeling is all wrong: there is no fast track to a healthy microbiome | Natasha May

TikTok ’s obsession with # guttok and # guthealth has seen a surge in interest in how to achieve a healthy gut.

There have also been online fads such as the “internal shower drink” (combining water, chia seeds and lemon juice) and the candida diet which eliminates high sugar fruits in the name of gut health.

Some of the trillions of microorganisms that live in our gastrointestinal tract (more commonly known as our gut), some of these bacteria are helpful and some are not.

A lot of the messages around gut health online are fuelled by the weight-loss industry.

Most of us don’t have inflammation of the gut and active inflammation includes coeliac disease, Crohn ’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

For specific conditions there are often very effective dietary therapies, for example, a low-Fodmap diet for IBS .