Why too much sugar might hurt your gut
Added sugars, gut microbiota, and host health
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
The same amount of sugar in a soda causes more gut damage than the same sugar in solid food.
People assume solid sugar (like cookies) is worse because it’s 'concentrated,' but the study shows liquid sugar bypasses digestion and floods the colon faster.
Practical Takeaways
Swap sugary drinks for sparkling water with lemon or unsweetened tea to protect your gut bacteria.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
The same amount of sugar in a soda causes more gut damage than the same sugar in solid food.
People assume solid sugar (like cookies) is worse because it’s 'concentrated,' but the study shows liquid sugar bypasses digestion and floods the colon faster.
Practical Takeaways
Swap sugary drinks for sparkling water with lemon or unsweetened tea to protect your gut bacteria.
Publication
Journal
Gut Microbes
Year
2025
Authors
Yanbo Zhang, Ryan W Walker, Robert C. Kaplan, Qibin Qi
Related Content
Claims (7)
If you cut out starchy foods and sugary snacks for a long time, the good bacteria in your gut have less to feed on, which may lead to less harmful toxins and less body-wide inflammation that's linked to autoimmune problems.
Drinking sugary sodas might change your gut bacteria more than eating the same amount of sugar in candy or cookies, because the liquid sugar goes through your stomach faster and reaches your intestines in bigger amounts.
Eating too much added sugar might kill off the good bacteria in your gut that make helpful chemicals, which could weaken your gut lining and cause body-wide inflammation.
Whether sugar makes certain good gut bacteria grow or shrink depends on your genes—specifically, a gene called Fut2 that affects the mucus in your gut. So, sugar might help bacteria in some people but hurt them in others.
Eating a lot of added sugar, especially in sodas and sweet drinks, might change the good bacteria in your gut, letting some bacteria that love sugar grow too much while reducing others that help keep your gut healthy—this could lead to leaks in your gut lining and inflammation that’s tied to diseases like diabetes.