n = 6 (or n = 12)
Very interesting. But at best a potential fact that needs to be replicated in a large cohort. Don’t assume it’s a proven fact just from this study.
this post was submitted on 16 Jun 2025
189 points (100.0% liked)
science
19431 readers
342 users here now
A community to post scientific articles, news, and civil discussion.
rule #1: be kind
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
These researchers are bastards! Why didn't they transplant the gut microbiome from the mouse to the human instead, to cure the test patient's social anxiety?
So, I shit fear?
Is this why I feel less anxious post shit
Whose shit do I need to eat to feel like a normal person?
You can adjust your own gut bacteria in 3-9 months through diet alone. Eating shit is a unnecessary optimization.
Go on..
The gut is amazing and poorly understood. We have observed that it adapts to the food eaten over a few months. We have also observed that antibiotics can severely kill off this bacteria - so medications in addition to causing diarrhea can impact a healthy gut.
What is a good, bad, or even optimal gut biome is a area of open research. Here is what i've gathered
- It's currently assumed diversity is good
- If you eat junk (high sugar, processed foods) your gut biome won't be great, sugar invites lots of nasty bacteria we don't want
- if you must eat plants - fermented food encourages a more diverse gut biome
- Probiotics are totally unnecessary except when kick starting after anti-biotics (we don't know which bacteria is good, so a probiotic is just guessing anyway)
Gut health is more then just the biome, its also how intact the lining is, any foods that cause irritations or leaky gut can have outsized health impacts beyond just the bacteria.
Since the gut will adapt to a diet over 3-9 months, pick a diet you think is healthy - and stick with it for maximum benefits.
There is lots of suggestive research that many gut issues (ibs, crones, Diverticulosis, etc) are based in a food sensitivity - with many people resolving their issues following a elimination diet (such as animal foods only). This is suggestive of the importance of gut health, and eating food that doesn't upset the gut. If these issues are because of the nutrients themselves, lectins, gluten, pesticides (glyphosate on food can act as a antibiotic in humans....), allergies, etc - we don't know, its a area of exciting research.
Some people, many people actually, say fibre is really good for gut health - this is an assumption based on the diversity assumption. I don't think its correct in a general population. The only RCT i've ever seen on Fibre is its impact on constipation patients (it makes constipation worse). But.... it's an area of on going research. heh
A fun anecdote - Celiac disease and its relationship with wheat was basically unknown until Dutch wheat shortages in WWII showed some people resolving their gut issues. https://www.beyondceliac.org/celiac-disease/celiac-history/ - There is alot we don't understand about the gut....
yeah, you don’t eat it. water, fecal sample, enemia. EZ
or just eat some yogurt, kimchi, fruit and veggies.
I'm quite lactose intolerant and don't handle cabbage well either.
Remaining instructions unclear; banana stuck in rectum.
As long as you're having fun 😉
So that's what rimming is all about; they have anxiety. TIL.
I think a lot of people don't realise how much of what makes "them" them is gut biome and your brain retrospectively assigning yourself agency for actions your body decided on (flinching from hot surfaces is one).
We just keep finding more ways that gut bacteria influence our diet and behaviour. And if you obey your gut flora and eat sugar instead of protein, you'll allow them to increase which expands their influence over you. Or that part of you, since where's the line?
Souls and people „don’t exist“. Because all that you and everyone thinks is you is just your brain taking inputs and making outputs by weighing all its available data. Gut is just another data source which influences your brains actions.
Not that extreme. But the brain has way more "wires" from than to the gut.
And the "you" changes with every new experience, so there's that.
Or that part of you, since where's the line?
Brains exist in a chemical soup, but you are still you even if the soup changes. The good thing about this relationship is the brain can control the food and slowly change the gut and in turn the chemical soup the brain exists in.
It's really weird but I seem to more easily get panic attacks if I haven't eaten yet that day. I wonder if this has something to do with it as well.
“Shut up or I’ll give you my anxiety” has now become a threat that is possible to follow through on.
Yes technically, but… I was gonna say “how would you even act on that?” but decided I’d prefer not to know.
As someone who does know how transplanting gut biome works... yea, you absolutely don't want to know.
Just know that a "Stool Bank", which is a facility which holds samples of fecal matter tested to ensure no transferable disease, is a real thing that exists and is relevant to this discussion.
Shit put into a pill that you swallow.
Interesting stuff.
As a side note, I feel like a lot of people tend to erroneously conflate mostly normal social anxiety (e.g. feeling anxious when meeting new people) with SAD, which tends to be diagnosed when the anxiety is actually severe/crippling. Kind of like how PTSD or OCD are thrown around super casually these days.