These 5 Gut Conditions Were Just Linked To Alzheimer's Disease

The more we learn about the gut-brain axis, the more we realize just how essential it is to overall well-being. Case in point: Recent research published in the journal Communications Biology1 discovered there's a link between at least five specific gut conditions and Alzheimer's disease (AD).

It's long been suspected that Alzheimer's and the gut could have a particular connection, but until this research, the relationship between AD and gut disorders has been misunderstood.

To dig in to this suspected link, researchers from Edith Cowan University in Australia analyzed genetic data from existing research on Alzheimer's and gut disorders, completing a large-scale analysis of over 400,000 people.

Their findings suggest that people with gut disorders may be at a greater risk of developing AD, and further, that people with AD and gut disorders appear to share certain genes. The five specific gut disorders linked with Alzheimer's were gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), peptic ulcer disease (PUD), gastritis-duodenitis, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and diverticulosis.

While these findings do not necessarily indicate gut disorders cause Alzheimer's, or vice versa, they do reinforce the importance of taking care of your gut for whole-body health.

Eating a gut-fueling, nutrient-dense diet—and avoiding food triggers that could harm your microbiome—is always a good place to start. Getting plenty of aerobic exercise has also been found to increase the array of bacteria2 in your digestive tract and contribute to overall microbial diversity. (That's a good thing!)