All 885 tips from all chapters, sorted by topic and confidence score. See what is well supported and what is still experimental.
| Topic | Established | Well supported | Promising | Plausible | Experimental |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gut barrier | 3 | 14 | 13 | 2 | |
| Opportunistic pathogens | 1 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 1 |
| Bacteriophages | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Microbial diversity | 1 | 8 | 29 | 41 | 2 |
| Gut-brain axis | 1 | 19 | 24 | ||
| Digestive function | 3 | 9 | 25 | 46 | |
| Small intestine colonisation | 3 | 8 | 11 | ||
| Immune system and inflammation | 2 | 5 | 21 | 23 | |
| Total | 7 | 41 | 127 | 175 | 8 |
Tap a number to see the tips below. Darker cells contain more tips.
Opportunistic pathogens · Clear selection
Trust score 5 of 5:Established Lifestyle
The most important thing in acute diarrhoea is replacing water and salts, for example with an oral rehydration solution from the pharmacy. Probiotics come after that.
Saccharomyces boulardii: the probiotic yeast no source of its own, score based on judgement
Trust score 4 of 5:Well supported Lifestyle
C. difficile spores survive alcohol-based hand sanitisers. Thorough handwashing with soap is important around people who are ill.
After antibiotics: C. difficile and faecal transplants no source of its own, score based on judgement
Trust score 4 of 5:Well supported Lifestyle
The risk of C. difficile falls with every antibiotic course avoided. They do not help against colds and flu, which are caused by viruses. When needed, take them exactly as prescribed, and ask whether a narrower-spectrum drug is possible.
After antibiotics: C. difficile and faecal transplants no source of its own, score based on judgement
Trust score 4 of 5:Well supported Lifestyle
Brush your teeth twice a day and clean between them. Dental plaque is the best-documented biofilm in humans, and mechanical removal works.
Biofilms in the gut and “biofilm busters” no source of its own, score based on judgement
Trust score 4 of 5:Well supported Lifestyle
With poorly controlled diabetes, fungal infections are much more common, because high sugar in mucous membranes and skin benefits yeasts and weakens defences. Good control helps here.
Fungi in the gut: what is true about Candida no source of its own, score based on judgement
Trust score 4 of 5:Well supported Lifestyle
25 to 30 grams of fibre a day, from whole grains, legumes, vegetables, fruit and nuts, was linked to the lowest colorectal cancer risk in studies. It feeds the butyrate producers and lowers the amount of irritating bile acids in the colon. With a sensitive gut, increase slowly.
Trust score 4 of 5:Well supported Lifestyle
Processed meat demonstrably raises the risk of colorectal cancer, red meat probably does. It doesn’t have to go completely, but rather as an exception than daily. Legumes, fish or poultry are good alternatives.
Trust score 4 of 5:Well supported Lifestyle
Handle raw poultry and eggs carefully, cook meat through, keep cutting boards separate and cool leftovers quickly to avoid infections with Salmonella or Campylobacter, which can disturb the balance. When travelling: safe water, cooked food rather than raw produce from an unsafe source.
Opportunistic pathogens no source of its own, score based on judgement
Trust score 4 of 5:Well supported Lifestyle
Wash your hands after using the toilet and before eating, and when travelling take only safe water and well-cooked or self-peeled food. With pinworms, keep fingernails short, shower in the morning and wash bed linen, towels and underwear hot.
Parasites in the gut: worms, protozoa and Blastocystis no source of its own, score based on judgement
Trust score 4 of 5:Well supported Lifestyle
Wash or peel raw vegetables and fruit, and do not drink untreated water from streams while out and about or hiking. Boiling, a suitable filter or treatment is enough. This protects against Giardia, Cryptosporidium and worm eggs.
Parasites in the gut: worms, protozoa and Blastocystis 1 sources
Trust score 4 of 5:Well supported Lifestyle
Cryptosporidium survives ordinary chlorine. Anyone with diarrhoea therefore stays out of the pool, and children in nappies with diarrhoea do not belong in a paddling pool. After recovery, wait a while longer, because the organisms continue to be shed.
Parasites in the gut: worms, protozoa and Blastocystis 1 sources
Trust score 4 of 5:Well supported Lifestyle
This diet relieves bloating and diarrhoea in IBS. The guideline recommends a limited trial with reintroduction afterwards, so that your diet does not stay narrow for good.
Trust score 3 of 5:Promising Lifestyle
Anyone ill with C. difficile should if possible use their own toilet, clean the toilet and handles with a chlorine-based cleaner and wash laundry hot. This protects housemates, especially older or sick ones.
After antibiotics: C. difficile and faecal transplants no source of its own, score based on judgement
Trust score 3 of 5:Promising Lifestyle
If you get bloated after sweets, fruit or bread, the cause is usually how the sugar is digested, not a fungus. A breath test for fructose or lactose and a time-limited elimination trial with reintroduction (with a dietitian) give usable answers.
Trust score 3 of 5:Promising Lifestyle
Take dentures out at night and clean them daily, rinse your mouth after inhaled corticosteroids, and keep up good oral hygiene. This lowers the risk of oral thrush, the most common fungal infection of the digestive tract.
Fungi in the gut: what is true about Candida no source of its own, score based on judgement
Trust score 3 of 5:Promising Lifestyle
When did the symptoms begin, how long do they last, what was changed? A true Herxheimer reaction begins in the first 24 hours and lasts hours. What increases over days is more likely a side effect or intolerance. A daily scale from 0 to 10 (for example in this platform’s symptom diary) makes trends visible.
Herxheimer reaction, die-off and toxins 1 sources
Trust score 3 of 5:Promising Lifestyle
What really relieves liver, kidney and gut is unspectacular: little alcohol, enough to drink, plenty of fibre, regular bowel movements, enough sleep and exercise. This is demonstrably healthier than any cure, even if it feels less like “cleansing”.
Herxheimer reaction, die-off and toxins 1 sources
Trust score 3 of 5:Promising Lifestyle
Symptoms after COVID resemble those after other gut infections. What is proven for IBS is a sensible starting point: regular meals, soluble fibre such as psyllium husk, and if needed a time-limited low FODMAP phase with support. Studies specifically after COVID are lacking.
Long COVID and the gut: when your stomach won't settle after COVID 1 sources
Trust score 3 of 5:Promising Lifestyle
Brushing twice a day with fluoride toothpaste is the basis. Floss or interdental brushes further reduce gum inflammation, according to a Cochrane review with low certainty, but consistently.
Mouth and gut: how teeth, gums and mouthwash touch the gut flora 1 sources
Trust score 3 of 5:Promising Lifestyle
Smoking and frequent sugar promote periodontitis and tooth decay. This is classic dentistry; there is no dedicated study for the gut, but a benefit via the mouth flora is plausible.
Mouth and gut: how teeth, gums and mouthwash touch the gut flora no source of its own, score based on judgement
Trust score 3 of 5:Promising Lifestyle
Pinworms spread easily within a family. The hygiene rules therefore apply to everyone in the household; whether contacts are treated too is something to discuss with your doctor or pharmacist. It is usual to repeat the medicine after two weeks and to treat everyone in the household at the same time. Keeping a child out of nursery or school is usually not necessary once treatment has started and the child is well.
Parasites in the gut: worms, protozoa and Blastocystis 1 sources
Trust score 3 of 5:Promising Lifestyle
The gut responds through nerves and messengers to lack of sleep and tension, especially after an infection. Regular sleep times, exercise and relaxation are not a distraction but act on the same control loop. The studies are mostly observational.
Trust score 2 of 5:Plausible Lifestyle
A high-fibre, varied diet gives the remaining species food to spread again. Patience is part of it: recovery takes weeks to months.
After antibiotics: C. difficile and faecal transplants no source of its own, score based on judgement
Trust score 2 of 5:Plausible Lifestyle
Fibre from many plants and three to four hours between meals support a stable flora and the cleansing wave of the small intestine. Not studied for biofilms themselves, but it does no harm.
Biofilms in the gut and “biofilm busters” no source of its own, score based on judgement
Trust score 2 of 5:Plausible Lifestyle
Bacteria are the most important natural protection against Candida. After a course of antibiotics, a varied, high-fibre diet rich in plant foods and patience help, because recovery takes weeks. The protective effect of the gut flora is mainly shown in animal studies.
Trust score 2 of 5:Plausible Lifestyle
In an observational study, people on immunotherapy with a high-fibre diet lived longer without their cancer progressing. This is not yet proven, but a high-fibre diet is healthy anyway. If the therapy causes symptoms, agree your diet with your care team.
Trust score 2 of 5:Plausible Lifestyle
If you start several things at once, you cannot tell what helps and what harms. So start them one after another, a few days apart, and stick to the dose on the pack. Never dose prescription drugs yourself, and have anything new checked for interactions at a pharmacy or practice first.
Herxheimer reaction, die-off and toxins no source of its own, score based on judgement
Trust score 2 of 5:Plausible Lifestyle
With grain kefir, home-made ferments or high-dose probiotics, start with small amounts and only increase when things go well. If symptoms grow over days, pause instead of “pushing through”. Headache, palpitations or flushing shortly after drinking point more to histamine than to die-off. Anyone with small intestinal bacterial overgrowth or who develops brain fog should discuss strong probiotics with a doctor.
Herxheimer reaction, die-off and toxins 2 sources
Trust score 2 of 5:Plausible Lifestyle
If you crash for days after exertion, it is better to take on activity in small portions with breaks rather than pushing through, and to discuss this with your doctor. This advice is based on clinical experience, not on a study checked here.
Long COVID and the gut: when your stomach won't settle after COVID no source of its own, score based on judgement
Trust score 2 of 5:Plausible Lifestyle
There is no tested diet for rebuilding the gut flora after COVID. Plant variety, fibre as tolerated and fermented foods are the general basics. Strict elimination diets without reason tend to do harm because they reduce diversity.
Long COVID and the gut: when your stomach won't settle after COVID no source of its own, score based on judgement
Trust score 2 of 5:Plausible Lifestyle
Chlorhexidine makes sense for a limited time, for example after procedures or on a dentist's advice. Used daily without a reason, it shifts the mouth flora and weakens nitrate conversion. If you like mouthwash, ask about mild products and the right way to use them.
Mouth and gut: how teeth, gums and mouthwash touch the gut flora 3 sources
Trust score 2 of 5:Plausible Lifestyle
Long chewing breaks food down and stimulates saliva flow; this relieves the stomach and small intestine. For the gut this is not well proven; it follows the mechanism. Sugar-free chewing gum and enough drinking help if your mouth is often dry. Breathing mostly through the mouth dries it out further.
Mouth and gut: how teeth, gums and mouthwash touch the gut flora no source of its own, score based on judgement
Trust score 2 of 5:Plausible Lifestyle
It strengthens the bacteria that keep the gut low in oxygen. In a mouse study, a high-fibre diet prevented Klebsiella from spreading.
Opportunistic pathogens 2 sources
Trust score 2 of 5:Plausible Lifestyle
A diverse microbiome leaves fewer niches open. More on this in the chapter on microbial diversity.
Opportunistic pathogens 1 sources
Trust score 2 of 5:Plausible Lifestyle
The small intestine’s cleaning wave runs only when nothing is eaten for a while. Anyone who constantly eats small amounts leaves it little time. Three to four meals with breaks are a gentle start for many people.
Opportunistic pathogens no source of its own, score based on judgement
Trust score 2 of 5:Plausible Lifestyle
S. boulardii only works while you take it. It makes sense for a specific period; taking it daily without a reason has not been studied.
Saccharomyces boulardii: the probiotic yeast no source of its own, score based on judgement
Trust score 2 of 5:Plausible Lifestyle
Plant variety, fibre from pulses, oats and vegetables, and fermented foods support your own gut flora in recovering. A probiotic does not replace this. For individual foods this is not well proven; it is a plausible addition.
Saccharomyces boulardii: the probiotic yeast no source of its own, score based on judgement
Trust score 2 of 5:Plausible Lifestyle
Every avoided gut infection lowers the risk. When travelling, stick to cooked, peeled or thoroughly heated food and bottled water. Washing hands before eating and after the toilet is part of it.
Trust score 2 of 5:Plausible Lifestyle
A diary over a few weeks shows whether things are improving, what triggers flares and whether diarrhoea occurs at night or only by day. This helps you and your doctor more than any memory. Night-time diarrhoea counts as a warning sign and is not typical IBS.
When the gut does not settle after an infection no source of its own, score based on judgement
Trust score 1 of 5:Experimental Lifestyle
A strictly sugar-free diet against gut fungi is not supported by evidence and is often unnecessarily restrictive. That Candida is found more often on a high-carbohydrate diet is an observation, not a treatment success. Anyone who restricts strictly for a long time risks deficiencies and disordered-eating patterns without any infection being treated.