Sugar may worsen antibiotic damage to gut microbiome

A study by NYU Langone, City of Hope and Memorial Sloan Kettering of 173 blood cancer patients found that every extra 100 g of sugar eaten in the 48 hours before treatment was linked to a further 21% drop in gut microbiome alpha diversity. In mice given biapenem and dietary sucrose, Enterococcus levels rose 16.3-fold by day 3 and 33.4-fold by day 6.

• Each extra 100 g of sugar in the 48 h before treatment cut alpha diversity by 21%
• In mice on biapenem and sucrose, Enterococcus rose 16.3-fold by day 3 and 33.4-fold by day 6
• The analysis covered 9,419 meals from 173 hospitalized blood cancer patients
• Findings were published Sept. 30 in the journal Nature