10/17/2025
Your medications are altering your gut and your brain!
Long-Term Effects of Past Medication Use on the Gut Microbiome�A 2025 study in mSystems analyzed electronic health records (EHR) and stool metagenomics from 2,509 individuals to examine medication use up to 5 years prior to sampling.  It revealed that nearly half of 186 tested drugs had lasting impacts, including “carryover” effects (persisting years after discontinuation) and “additive” effects (stronger with repeated exposure).
• Antibiotics: 78% affected commensal bacteria, disrupting keystone species like butyrate producers, which support gut health.  This can lead to reduced colonization resistance against pathogens like Clostridioides difficile. 
• Non-Antibiotics: 24% of human-targeted drugs altered microbes, including benzodiazepines (e.g., alprazolam, diazepam), antidepressants, proton-pump inhibitors, beta-blockers, and glucocorticoids. For instance, benzodiazepine derivatives showed dose-dependent shifts in microbial diversity, potentially linked to increased misuse risks. 
• Implications: These findings are not surprising, since the gut flora is fragile. What was surprising was that the effects on the microbiome were seen years later. Medications can easily alter the delicate balance of healthy bacteria living inside of us. It can have short- and long-term implications for metabolic processes — and not only the health of the gastrointestinal system, but also the brain. We are learning more and more about how the Vagus nerve is linking the brain and the gut further defining how medications can have unintended consequences on our gut, brain, and overall health years after they were taken. We should all consider how food, medications, and environmental factors greatly influence our health.
If you want to learn more about how to heal your gut and improve your health through nutrition, join us for our [LivFit] class that begins this Thursday night, October 23rd at 6pm. We have only 5 seats remaining for this fantastic two week seminar. Contact us for more information.