The gut microbiome may play a major role in autoimmune disease and symptom flare-ups

The gut microbiome's role in chronic diseases

Research shows that the microbial makeup of one's gut microbiome is associated with chronic diseases ranging from asthma to schizophrenia. Understanding these associations may reveal new ways to prevent or treat chronic diseases. In the meantime, nutritional changes—such as including more dietary fiber and unsaturated fat—appear to be the "most obvious, noninvasive, and immediate" way to alter the gut's microbiota makeup and functions.

Autoimmune disease prevalence and incidence are on the rise—but no one knows why

Researchers theorize that environmental factors, including shifts to less healthy diets, air pollution, infections, stress, climate change, and exposures to xenobiotics—substances like pesticides, plastics, and toxins that incite immune responses—may all be fueling epigenetic changes to our bodies that make people's immune responses go awry.

What happens when the gut microbiome is out of whack?

An imbalance in gut microbiome flora can lead to a condition known as dysbiosis. This condition is typically characterized by a drop in microbiota diversity and an increase in harmful unicellular and acellular organisms, such as viruses, that can negatively impact the host's immune system and overall health. Genetics, infections, dietary choices, antibiotics, food additives, artificial sweeteners, and other lifestyle and environmental factors can cause dysbiosis.

Can the gut microbiome drive addiction?

New research suggests an imbalance of gut microorganisms may influence the likelihood of addiction and addictive behaviors by increasing the severity of withdrawal symptoms, triggering brain inflammation in regions of impulse control, and more.

Research links the gut microbiome and rheumatoid arthritis

Arthritis is a potentially disabling joint condition that currently affects nearly one in five adults across the globe. Doctors still don't know what causes rheumatoid arthritis, but the answer may be partly determined by chemicals produced by bacteria in the gut.

Chemicals from the gut have complex interactions with the rest of the body

Trillions of bacteria live in our guts, producing a wide range of molecules, hormones, and more. This review underscores the immune system’s pivotal role in the microbiota–gut–brain axis. Gut microbes influence immune cells and metabolites, which in turn modulate neurodevelopment, neural signaling, mood, and neuroinflammation—highlighting immune pathways as central mediators in gut‑brain communication.

Gut microbiome rewrites may help reduce allergies

Researchers are investigating different strategies to determine if one day they could give people a combination of gut microbes to set them up for fewer allergies. In animal research, scientists have already prevented severe allergic responses in allergy-prone mice—supplying them with gut microbes from healthy, non-allergic human babies.

How the gut microbiome can affect heatstroke risk

Some research suggests that our gut microbiome influences our risk of exertional heatstroke. If exercise boosts our body temperatures to unsafe levels, increasing gut permeability, that can cause a "leaky" gut—allowing bacteria and other gut microbes to leak into the bloodstream and potentially trigger endotoxemia, a potentially life-threatening inflammatory response that can occur with heat exhaustion and heatstroke.

Exercise causes diet-independent changes in the gut microbiome

Cardiovascular exercise has been found to boost the gut's population of beneficial bacteria, and exercise overall decreases the likelihood of developing a "leaky gut," a condition in which a porous gut lining allows bacteria to leak into the bloodstream and cause inflammation.

There's no specific anti-inflammatory diet, but certain foods increase the chance of inflammation

Research suggests humans can reduce inflammation by limiting foods that are already known to be unhealthy for the human body—because they alter gut bacteria and stress the immune system—such as highly-processed foods, deep fried foods, sugary drinks, trans fats, red meats, and foods made with white flour. Foods that help the body include fatty fish such as salmon, legumes, fruits, and vegetables.

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain autoimmune conditions by tamping down the immune system's inflammatory response.

Women typically have more robust immune responses than men

This difference helps women better combat infectious diseases, but this more turbo-charged response may also make women more vulnerable to autoimmune diseases by potentially priming their immune systems to overreact to their own cells and tissues and label them as invaders that must be destroyed. Roughly 80% of American women have autoimmune conditions.

Autoimmunity is when the body attacks itself, causing inflammation

Inflammation is the body's way of healing itself, and acute inflammation saves our lives when we have injuries or infections. It increases blood flow to the affected areas to bring immune cells to fight off invaders. This often results in short-term swelling, redness, and pain.

How one autoimmune disease patient is questing for inflammation cures

This article's writer, who has Hashimoto's Disease and characteristic symptoms from her body attacking her thyroid—like exhaustion, hair loss, and brain fog—shares big take-aways from an anti-inflammatory retreat in Italy. The writer suggests that a holistic approach to eating, sleeping, and stress management, are the only sustainable ways to lower inflammation.

Many patients with psoriasis develop other autoimmune diseases, too

A small study published in 2024 found that nearly three-quarters of patients with psoriasis—a condition in which the body attacks healthy skin cells—also developed autoimmune disorders including thyroid diseases, connective tissue diseases, and more, suggesting such connections between these autoimmune disorders warrant further exploration.

GLP-1s are netting interest for treating autoimmune diseases, but are considered experimental

Already used to treat type 2 diabetes, the novel medications are showing some early promise in experimental studies at reducing inflammation and treating autoimmune conditions including rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel conditions. But researchers caution that side effects are still under investigation—rarely the medication has caused lupus, an autoimmune disease.

Inflammation appears to cause specific symptoms of depression

A large analysis of existing studies published in 2021 found that systemic inflammation is associated with fatigue, appetite changes, and sleep disruption, rather than some of depression's broader symptoms including hopelessness about the future, or feeling fearful. This may suggest that inflammation influences specific symptoms of the condition, rather than the disease as a whole.

Twin studies suggest celiac disease is among the more genetically-linked disorders

Genetics appear to play a larger part in this condition's development than many other autoimmune disorders. Research shows a roughly 60-75% genetic probability that if one identical twin has it, the other will too. Celiac triggers a small intestine attack when people eat gluten, a protein commonly found in wheat, barley, and rye.

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain health conditions

Early clinical trial research suggests that the parasites trigger the production of specific proteins that quiet our immune systems. This keeps the parasites from being killed, but it also quiets the inflammatory response that underpins allergies, type 2 diabetes, celiac disease, and other autoimmune conditions. Researchers still caution that infection with too many hookworms can cause serious medical complications and that this is not a standardized or approved medical treatment.

Lengthy incubation periods are why it’s tough to link foodborne illness to specific foods

People may not get sick from a foodborne pathogen for several days after consuming it, making it a challenge to link the illness and its cause. Factors influencing when a person starts feeling sick—even as the pathogen is multiplying in the gut—include individual variations in immune systems and gut microbiomes, what other foods are in the person’s body, and how much of the pathogen was consumed.

Short-term cortisol spikes can boost the immune system

Elevated acute levels can enhance the immune system's ability to fight off infection or respond to injury. Chronic heightened cortisol levels, however, can lead to inflammation that harms cells and tissues over time.

We're breathing microplastics

White blood cells can't fight off microplastics and that sparks inflammation and bigger health risks. They're in our food, water, even the rain. What does that mean for us?

Ultra-processed foods are made to maximize cravings and encourage overeating

Often disguised as healthy options like granola bars and low-fat yogurt, these foods silently fuel chronic diseases, despite dominating diets. Reviewing labels for ingredients like stabilizers and emulsifiers can serve as indicators to help identify these products.

A macrophage can eat 100 bacteria, on average, before it's exhausted

These specialized immune cells are first responders during inflammation, responding to a threat or injury and then performing other inflammatory response tasks, including summoning neutrophils to help attack invaders.

Alpha-gal allergy is a problem for red meat lovers, and that same sugar is an issue for xenotransplants, too

In recent years, researchers have discovered ticks can induce spontaneous meat allergies in people they bite, a particularly problematic condition for previous meat lovers. This 18-minute podcast from RadioLab breaks down the cause.

Measles infection can cause long-term immune system “amnesia”

The measles virus attacks the body's immune system, including preying on T and B cells in the lymphatic system. These cells hold memories of past infections, which can be degraded as the virus destroys them. This leaves patients susceptible to other infections for a year or longer.

Poison ivy is in the same family as mangoes, cashews, and pistachios—and they all produce oily urushiol in their raw, unprocessed state—but they are typically prepared in ways to avoid causing human discomfort.

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

Tattoos remain visible on your skin thanks to immune cells called macrophages

Watch how viruses like Ebola can spill over from animals to humans—and vice-versa.

Telehealth demand for GLP-1s for weight loss is booming as consumers seek easier access.

Larger animals like giraffes, elephants, and blue whales have developed a unique defense against cancer, a phenomenon known as Peto's Paradox

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

An investigation suggests a Scottish island became awash in forever chemicals via seafoam and seaspray—raising questions about what that means for the safety of other coastal areas.

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

Volcanic activity may have triggered the Black Death by spewing gases that led to crop failures in Europe, thus forcing the import of grain ships with plague-infested fleas.

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

About 12.5% of US adults experience a phobia in their lifetime, a diagnosis that hinges on the intense fear interfering with daily life and persisting for at least six months.

The hormonal disorder PCOS was renamed PMOS in 2026, a move designed to improve care and research by shifting the focus to the hormonal causes of this condition that affects 1 in 8 women.

See images of medical cases of firework injuries shared on this 'Instagram for doctors.' (Warning: Graphic content)

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

Coral reefs get their colors from zooxanthellae—microorganisms that line corals' digestive tracts and provide them with sugars in exchange for a home within this protective tissue.

Some renewable energy sources may weaken the resiliency of electric grids by removing outage buffers provided by coal- and natural gas-fired plants, which provide the system with more time to find a new power source if a plant goes down.

Radioactive elements can introduce software errors because the ionizing radiation they produce can detach electrons from atoms, and computer code relies on the distribution of electrons.

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

Play the role of a student in a game where you try to navigate college and remain debt-free, selecting different income levels, high school experience, race, ethnicity, and more.

One disco producer saw 'Star Wars' four times on its opening weekend and was so inspired that he recorded the album 'Star Wars and Other Intergalactic Funk,' which produced a chart-topping single.