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Scientific evidence, not popular ideas, should drive probiotic and prebiotic recommendations in clinical settings. Globally, evidence is continually emerging on how probiotics and prebiotics can be effectively used in patient care but health care professionals often struggle to find out where the evidence stands for a particular condition. The World Gastroenterology Organization (WGO) recently published an updated guideline document, aimed at helping gastroenterologists and other physicians understand appropriate clinical applications for probiotics or prebiotics. The guideline was created with contributions from experts in gastroenterology, probiotics, and prebiotics, with the efforts co-led by experts from the International Scientific Association for Probiotics...

Even as pancreatic cancer treatments improve, only about 9% of patients survive past five years. Researchers have searched unsuccessfully to find genetic differences that explain why some patients survive long term and some do not and have now shifted their focus to the gut microbiome. The microbiome is a term used for the collection of microbes, including microorganisms like bacteria, that live on or in the human body. Jordan Kharofa, MD, said there was little known about the microbiome of long-term pancreatic cancer survivors. "There is emerging science suggesting that pancreas cancer survivors have a robust immune response in their...

Studies interlinking the microbiome of the gut and the brain show evidence of changes in emotional health. Recent research in the UK is exploring how the gut-brain axis affects anxiety. The findings indicate that introducing a prebiotic called galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) into the gut microbiome has a positive effect on gut health and greater emotional wellbeing. The Study Aspects Researchers from the University of Surrey examined the food diaries and stool samples of 64 female volunteers between the ages of 18 and 25 over 28 days. The volunteers were given either 7.5g of the GOS Biotis prebiotic or a placebo made...