Taking Antibiotics? Skipping Sweets May Help Protect Your Gut
The study found a 21% drop in microbiome diversity for every 100 grams of sugar consumed before treatment.
- On September 30, 2026, researchers published a study in the journal Nature finding that sugar consumption during antibiotic treatment amplifies gut microbiome damage in hospitalized cancer patients.
- Antibiotics eliminate helpful gut bacteria, allowing harmful species like Enterococcus faecium to dominate; these pathogens exploit dietary sugars to expand their populations.
- Researchers from NYU Langone Health, City of Hope, and Memorial Sloan Kettering tracked 9,419 meals eaten by 173 hospitalized cancer patients, finding a 21% reduction in bacterial diversity per 100 grams of sugar consumed.
- Study co-senior author Jonas Schluter, PhD, at NYU Langone, said "reducing sweets intake" during antibiotics "could help" limit microbiome risks, as researchers plan clinical trials to test dietary interventions.
- The microbiome is emerging as a critical factor in cancer care, said Marcel van den Brink, MD, PhD, chief physician executive at City of Hope, emphasizing how diet affects patient recovery outcomes.
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Writing Science, Sep 30 (EFE).- Avoiding sugary foods and drinks while taking antibiotics can protect the microbiome and thus the general health of the patient, according to a clinical study collected in Nature magazine. Antibiotics are used to treat infections, but they also generally destroy beneficial bacteria in the intestine, [...] The entry Sugar intake increases the harmful effects of antibiotics during their intake was first published in…
One study has found that increased sugar consumption is related to a greater loss of bacteria diversity.
Taking a lot of sugar when treated with antibiotics could worsen the damage caused by medications to the intestinal bacterial flora. (ANSA)
Millions of bacteria live in the intestine that have evolved with us and perform essential tasks in digestion or regulation of the immune system. In recent years, it is becoming increasingly clear that imbalances in these microscopic ecosystems can cause health problems, from obesity to depression. Therefore, preserving that balance begins to be an objective of modern medicine. Continue reading
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