Gut Health
Gut health is real science, badly marketed. We separate the proven from the probiotic-of-the-week and help you build a sustainable routine.
```html Direct clinical evidence for cinnamon specifically in IBS is very limited — there are no large, well-designed randomised controlled trials (RCTs) to date. Cinnamon has demonstrated anti-spasmodic and antimicrobia…
```html Weak evidence: There are no well-designed human clinical trials specifically testing alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms. Indirect biology exists: ALA has demonstrated antioxidant …
```html Early evidence is cautiously promising , but the clinical trial base for berberine specifically targeting IBS is small, and most studies have significant methodological limitations. Berberine may modestly reduce …
```html Some probiotic strains modestly reduce IBS symptom severity — particularly bloating, pain, and stool consistency — but the evidence is inconsistent across strains and studies. Not all probiotics are equal: strain…
```html Mixed-to-negative evidence: Most well-controlled trials show inulin does not reliably improve IBS symptoms and may worsen them in a significant proportion of patients. Inulin is a highly fermentable FODMAP: For m…
```html Iron does not treat IBS symptoms — there is no meaningful clinical evidence that iron supplementation relieves bloating, cramping, diarrhea, or constipation in people with irritable bowel syndrome. Iron can actua…
```html Very limited evidence: There are no large, high-quality randomized controlled trials demonstrating that zinc supplementation reliably improves IBS symptoms in the general population. Zinc deficiency is real in so…
```html No direct evidence: As of early 2025, no clinical trials have specifically tested vitamin K2 for IBS symptoms — the honest answer is that we simply don't know whether it helps. Indirect links exist: Vitamin K2 pl…
```html Several small trials suggest vitamin D3 supplementation may modestly reduce IBS symptom severity, but the evidence is still limited and inconsistent. Vitamin D deficiency is more common in people with IBS than in…
```html Evidence for fish oil specifically reducing IBS symptoms is weak and inconsistent — most trials are small, short, and show mixed results. Omega-3 fatty acids have genuine anti-inflammatory effects in the gut, but…
```html Caffeine is more likely to worsen IBS symptoms than help them — it stimulates colonic motility and can trigger urgency, cramping, and diarrhea, particularly in IBS-D (diarrhea-predominant) patients. There is no c…
```html No meaningful evidence: There are no published clinical trials testing beta-alanine specifically for IBS symptoms. Different target: Beta-alanine is an exercise-performance supplement; its mechanism has no establ…
```html Evidence is thin and mixed: There are no large, well-designed clinical trials specifically testing whey protein as a treatment for IBS symptoms. Lactose is a common trigger: Many people with IBS are sensitive to …
```html No direct clinical evidence supports creatine monohydrate for IBS symptoms — no randomized controlled trials have tested this combination. Creatine is well-studied for muscle performance and some neurological con…
```html Very limited evidence: No robust human clinical trials have specifically tested l-theanine for IBS symptoms; the evidence base is thin and largely preclinical. Plausible but unproven mechanisms: L-theanine may ca…
```html Very limited direct evidence: No well-designed clinical trials have specifically tested valerian root for IBS symptoms; most gut-related research involves combination herbal products. Theoretical rationale exists…
```html Thin direct evidence: No large, well-designed clinical trials have specifically tested ashwagandha for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS); most relevant data comes from animal studies and general stress-reduction res…
```html Melatonin is produced in the gut as well as the brain, and early research suggests it may influence gut motility and pain perception in IBS — but the evidence is still preliminary. Small clinical trials show mode…
```html Magnesium has a well-established laxative effect that may relieve IBS-C (constipation-predominant IBS), but direct clinical trials in IBS populations are limited. For IBS-D (diarrhea-predominant) or IBS-M (mixed)…
```html 5-HTP raises serotonin levels, and since roughly 95% of the body's serotonin lives in the gut, there is a plausible biological reason to think it could influence gut motility. Direct human clinical trials testing…
```html Very limited human evidence: Glycine has plausible biological reasons to influence gut motility, but there are no robust clinical trials in humans specifically studying this effect. Animal and mechanistic data ex…
```html Very limited human evidence: No clinical trials have directly tested NAD precursors (NMN or NR) for improving gut motility in people. Plausible biology exists: NAD⁺ plays a role in enteric nervous system function…
```html Very limited direct evidence: No well-designed human clinical trials have specifically tested CoQ10 for gut motility as of 2024. Theoretical mechanism exists: CoQ10 plays a role in mitochondrial energy production…
```html Early animal and lab studies suggest ginseng — particularly its active ginsenoside compounds — may influence gut muscle contractions, but human clinical evidence remains limited and inconsistent. Most supportive …
```html Very limited evidence: There are no well-designed human clinical trials examining rhodiola rosea specifically for gut motility. Theoretical mechanisms exist — rhodiola influences the stress-gut axis and may have …
```html Limited human evidence: There are no large, well-designed clinical trials confirming that green tea extract reliably improves gut motility in people. Some mechanistic plausibility: Lab and animal studies suggest …
```html Moderate evidence: Ginger appears to accelerate gastric emptying — the rate at which food leaves the stomach — based on several small clinical trials, though most studies are short-term and involve relatively few…
```html Early laboratory and animal research suggests curcumin may influence gut motility, but high-quality human clinical trials are scarce and results are mixed. Most positive human data comes from studies on IBS sympt…
```html Early lab and animal research suggests cinnamon may influence gut smooth muscle activity, but well-designed human clinical trials on gut motility are largely absent. Some small human studies hint that cinnamon ma…
```html Very limited direct evidence: Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) has not been well-studied for gut motility in humans — most relevant data comes from animal models or small mechanistic studies. A plausible but unproven mech…