Taking antibiotics? Sugar may be making the damage worse
A study involving cancer patients and mice suggests that high sugar intake during antibiotic treatment significantly reduces gut microbiome diversity. This reduction can lead to an overgrowth of harmful bacteria like Enterococcus faecium.
Why it matters
Understanding how diet impacts the efficacy and side effects of antibiotics could lead to better recovery protocols for patients.
Eating more sugar while taking antibiotics may intensify the disruption those drugs cause to beneficial gut bacteria, according to new research.
The study focused on the intestinal microbiome, the vast community of bacteria that has evolved alongside humans and helps with digestion, immune function, and other essential processes. Antibiotics are among the most commonly prescribed medicines worldwide, but they can kill beneficial bacteria as well as harmful ones. In some cases, that disruption allows potentially dangerous species to gain an advantage.
A diverse microbiome is generally better able to resist the expansion of harmful pathogens. Antibiotic treatment can reduce that diversity, leaving the gut ecosystem more vulnerable to disease, according to the researchers.
Sugar Linked to Greater Microbiome Damage
Researchers from NYU Langone Health, City of Hope, and Memorial Sloan Kettering closely monitored 9,419 meals consumed by 173 hospitalized cancer patients and tracked changes in their gut microbiomes.
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