Talking gut health with University of Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (03/12/2025) — The gut contains a community of microscopic organisms called microbes — including bacteria and fungi — that live in our intestines. Known as the gut microbiome, it’s important to our overall health, immune system and digestion. 

Alexander Khoruts, MD, with the University of Minnesota Medical School and M Health Fairview, talks about gut health, why it’s important and how anyone can improve their gut health. 

Q: What is gut health? 
Dr. Khoruts: There is no agreed-upon definition for a “healthy gut.” At the minimum, a healthy gut is one that provides adequate nutrition to the body and does not cause symptoms that interfere with daily functions. However, we know that the gut is also intimately connected with the body’s immune, nervous and energy systems. The gut microbiome interacts with all these systems through various molecules produced by gut microbes. So, you might then ask, “What is a healthy gut microbiome?” There is no agreement on that, and it remains an open research question.

Q: Why is having a healthy gut important?
Dr. Khoruts: The gut and its microbiome are integral to most of the body’s physiology. A healthy gut contributes to all aspects of health, including immune fitness and mental health.

Q: How can I improve my gut health?
Dr. Khoruts: Microbes residing in our gut can produce substances both beneficial and harmful for our bodies. Most microbes that are beneficial to our health are “vegetarians.” Many feed on dietary fiber and, in the process, produce beneficial substances for their host. In addition, we know that diversity among microbes contributes to the resilience of the microbial communities in the gut. Therefore, we benefit from a diet that has chemically different varieties of fiber. This all translates to the simple advice on diet given by science and environmental journalist Michael Pollan: “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.” It’s also important to eat many kinds of plants to create a high diversity of fiber. There is also emerging evidence that fermented foods contribute to gut health because of certain beneficial chemicals made by microbes in the process of fermentation.

Q: What are some signs of poor gut health?
Dr. Khoruts: Some signs are obvious, including blood in stool, diarrhea and abdominal pains. These may be signs of colon cancer or inflammatory bowel diseases, such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease. Many people have a very sensitive gut  due to  irritable bowel syndrome, which is characterized by abdominal cramps and irregular bowel movements. However, a diverse array of common diseases and conditions including food allergies, kidney stones and neurologic conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and autism, may also have a gut component.

Q: How does your work at the University of Minnesota  advance health in Minnesota?

Dr. Khoruts: The Microbiota Therapeutics Program at the University of Minnesota is a world leader in developing microbiota transplant therapies, which aim to restructure the gut microbiome to treat or optimize treatments for many diseases. Specifically, we manufacture various formulations of live microbial communities derived from rigorously screened healthy donors, which are being tested in a multitude of clinical trials across the U.S. Some of the bigger trials include inflammatory bowel diseases, cancer treatments, antimicrobial resistance and autism.

Dr. Alexander Khoruts is a professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School and gastroenterologist with M Health Fairview. He is also the director of the U of M Microbiota Therapeutics Program.

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The University of Minnesota Medical School is at the forefront of learning and discovery, transforming medical care and educating the next generation of physicians. Our graduates and faculty produce high-impact biomedical research and advance the practice of medicine. We acknowledge that the U of M Medical School is located on traditional, ancestral and contemporary lands of the Dakota and the Ojibwe, and scores of other Indigenous people, and we affirm our commitment to tribal communities and their sovereignty as we seek to improve and strengthen our relations with tribal nations. Learn more at med.umn.edu.