In the last few years, tech companies have developed apps that use data from stool samples to determine what foods we should and shouldn’t eat.
A new study demonstrating how one such app is able to suggest foods to alter users’ microbiomes to alleviate symptoms of irritable bowel disease (IBS) is featured in this week’s gut spotlight story. The study compared an artificial intelligence-powered personalized diet to a low FODMAP diet, a popular elimination diet that’s become the gold standard food-based treatment for IBS management.
Microbiome is the term used to describe the community of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other microorganisms—many yet to be identified—that live in and on the human body. The microbial community in the gut seems to get the most attention because scientists are learning about how it is both connected to disease and easy to manipulate through diet and lifestyle.
An interesting finding was revealed: The app’s dietary suggestions boosted the very microbe that’s often lacking in IBS patients and can only be found in food sources.
As with most new technologies, it hasn’t come without critics. In this case, there could be good reasons why it may not be suitable for everyone. Read on to learn how the app works, who might benefit, and why others may find it to be a dead-end for symptom relief.
