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 | 4 | 13 | 2 | |
| Opportunistic pathogens | 6 | 28 | 12 | 4 | 1 |
| Bacteriophages | 1 | 3 | 2 | ||
| Microbial diversity | 6 | 10 | 21 | 11 | 2 |
| Gut-brain axis | 4 | 14 | 12 | 7 | 1 |
| Digestive function | 18 | 34 | 32 | 8 | |
| Small intestine colonisation | 8 | 11 | 9 | 1 | |
| Immune system and inflammation | 8 | 15 | 16 | 8 | 2 |
| Total | 45 | 113 | 118 | 52 | 9 |
Tap a number to see the tips below. Darker cells contain more tips.
Gut barrier · Clear selection
Trust score 5 of 5:Established Medical treatments
Useful steps are a blood test for coeliac disease, faecal calprotectin for diarrhoea and, depending on age and findings, a colonoscopy. Warning signs such as weight loss, blood in the stool, symptoms at night, fever or anaemia always need medical assessment.
The “leaky gut stack”: colostrum, zinc carnosine, aloe and co. 1 sources
Trust score 5 of 5:Established Medical treatments
Get a blood test for tissue transglutaminase antibodies while you are still eating gluten. Coeliac disease is the most common well-documented cause of a disturbed barrier.
The gut barrier 1 sources
Trust score 5 of 5:Established Medical treatments
Mucus and blood in the stool, diarrhoea at night or weight loss should be checked by a doctor, for example with faecal calprotectin or a colonoscopy. A little mucus in the stool can be normal; what stands out is when it is new, persistent or comes with blood and pain.
The mucus layer and additives 1 sources
Trust score 4 of 5:Well supported Medical treatments
Cough, wheezing, asthma or a constant runny nose in a damp home should be checked by a doctor, often with an allergy test and lung function test. Children in particular should be examined early.
Trust score 4 of 5:Well supported Medical treatments
These tests are not approved or validated for diagnosis. A "positive" result usually only shows what you have eaten.
Trust score 4 of 5:Well supported Medical treatments
If you regularly take NSAIDs such as ibuprofen or diclofenac, talk to your doctor about alternatives. Iron deficiency or unexplained anaemia while taking NSAIDs can also point to small-bowel damage.
The gut barrier 1 sources
Trust score 4 of 5:Well supported Medical treatments
With diarrhoea, mucus or blood in the stool, weight loss or night-time symptoms, faecal calprotectin helps distinguish inflammatory bowel disease from IBS.
The gut barrier 1 sources
Trust score 3 of 5:Promising Medical treatments
For inflammation in the rectum, butyrate enemas added to standard treatment improved the outcome in a randomised trial. This is a medical treatment, not a self-experiment.
Trust score 3 of 5:Promising Medical treatments
If even small amounts of fibre trigger severe bloating or pain, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth or another digestive disorder may be behind it. A breath test and a talk with your doctor can clarify this before you give up fibre altogether.
Trust score 3 of 5:Promising Medical treatments
Painkillers like ibuprofen, diclofenac or naproxen increase the gut damage from exercise and make the gut wall leakier. You should not take them preventively before a run. For pain after exercise, talk to a doctor or pharmacist about alternatives.
Gut and endurance sport: runner’s gut, cramps and what helps 1 sources
Trust score 3 of 5:Promising Medical treatments
Visible blood after a hard run can come from a brief circulation problem in the large intestine, which usually heals on its own. But it can also have other causes, such as inflammatory bowel disease or a polyp. That is why it always belongs in medical hands, especially if it comes back or if pain, fever or dizziness are added.
Gut and endurance sport: runner’s gut, cramps and what helps 2 sources
Trust score 3 of 5:Promising Medical treatments
If you run a lot and feel tired, are getting slower or look pale, have your iron stores (ferritin) and a blood count checked. Iron deficiency is common in endurance athletes, but not always harmless: with unexplained iron deficiency, coeliac disease or bleeding in the gut should also be considered.
Gut and endurance sport: runner’s gut, cramps and what helps 2 sources
Trust score 3 of 5:Promising Medical treatments
Longer fasting is best done in a fasting clinic or with medical supervision. Do not fast with underweight, an eating disorder, during pregnancy or breastfeeding, with type 1 diabetes, kidney or liver disease, or during a flare of inflammatory bowel disease. Discuss medication beforehand.
Longer fasting: water fasting, therapeutic fasting and fasting-mimicking 1 sources
Trust score 3 of 5:Promising Medical treatments
Anyone losing weight very quickly over weeks or who has had gallstones before should discuss this with their doctor. On very-low-calorie diets, ursodeoxycholic acid is sometimes given as prevention.
Longer fasting: water fasting, therapeutic fasting and fasting-mimicking 1 sources
Trust score 3 of 5:Promising Medical treatments
Blood pressure medicines, water tablets, insulin and other diabetes drugs (especially SGLT2 inhibitors), blood thinners and drugs with a narrow therapeutic range must be adjusted or paused before fasting. Your doctor decides this, not you alone.
Longer fasting: water fasting, therapeutic fasting and fasting-mimicking no source of its own, score based on judgement
Trust score 3 of 5:Promising Medical treatments
If you have fasted more than about five days, are underweight or have eaten little for a long time, have the refeeding supervised medically, with checks of phosphate, potassium and magnesium, to recognise a refeeding syndrome.
Longer fasting: water fasting, therapeutic fasting and fasting-mimicking no source of its own, score based on judgement
Trust score 3 of 5:Promising Medical treatments
Anyone with chronic hepatitis B or C, or who often eats heavily contaminated foods (for example in regions with damp-stored maize and peanuts), should have liver values checked regularly. The role of aflatoxins in liver cancer risk is well established.
Trust score 3 of 5:Promising Medical treatments
Fatigue, concentration problems and digestive symptoms in a damp home can also have other, treatable causes. A basic medical work-up (blood count, iron, thyroid, coeliac test, sleep, mood) helps more than a special test.
Trust score 3 of 5:Promising Medical treatments
This matters especially if you take anticoagulants or antibiotics, have liver disease or are pregnant. Anyone taking zinc for months should have copper and a blood count checked.
The “leaky gut stack”: colostrum, zinc carnosine, aloe and co. 2 sources
Trust score 3 of 5:Promising Medical treatments
The positive trial tested curcumin in addition to standard therapy, never instead of it. Agree on it with your care team.
The “leaky gut stack”: colostrum, zinc carnosine, aloe and co. 1 sources
Trust score 2 of 5:Plausible Medical treatments
With irritable bowel syndrome or inflammatory bowel disease you don’t have to give up sport; moderate exercise often helps. If you are planning a marathon or longer races, discuss it with your care team, because how safe very hard efforts are in that case has barely been studied.
Gut and endurance sport: runner’s gut, cramps and what helps 2 sources
Trust score 2 of 5:Plausible Medical treatments
In Japan, inpatient fasting therapy is used for IBS that does not respond to other treatments. The evidence is based on a retrospective analysis. Doing it alone at home is not the same.
Longer fasting: water fasting, therapeutic fasting and fasting-mimicking 1 sources