Sugar-rich foods exacerbate antibiotic-induced microbiome disruption

 

• Anqi Dai,
• Annamaria Ballweg,
• William Jogia,
• Madhumitha Rangesa,
• Peter A. Adintori,
• Mirae Baichoo,
• Tyler Funnell,
• Teng Fei,
• Nicholas R. Waters,
• Abrielle Swartz,
• Sukanya Sahu,
• Brianna Gipson,
• Sandeep S. Raj,
• Eiko Hayase,
• Zoe Pierce,
• Kenton Wu,
• Natalie Smith,
• Justin Neuberger,
• Adam Warren,
• Marina Burgos da Silva,
• Oriana Miltiadous,
• Corrado Zuanelli Brambilla,
• Marissa Lubin Buchan,
• Tatanisha K. Peets,
• …
• Jonathan U. Peled
  
  

  Abstract

  Diet shapes the composition of the gut microbiota1; however, the specific effects of distinct food groups on microbiome dynamics are unclear, particularly in circumstances of extreme perturbation. Here we evaluated the relationship between diet and intestinal microbiome dynamics by precisely tracking 9,419 meals consumed by 173 patients who were hospitalized for haematopoietic cell transplantation and analysing subsequent microbiome changes. Bayesian inference applied to data from 158 patients with paired longitudinal microbiome samples revealed that the intake of sweets and sugars during antibiotic exposure predicted exacerbated microbial dysbiosis, manifesting as lowered α-diversity and greater expansion of the pathobiont Enterococcus. Experiments in mice also showed that sucrose supplementation increased and prolonged antibiotic-induced Enterococcus expansion. These data suggest that avoiding a diet rich in simple sugars during antibiotic treatment may mitigate microbiota disruption. Further studies in independent cohorts will offer opportunities to generalize these findings and evaluate microbiota-sparing interventions.
  
  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-11077-3