- A systematic review found limited evidence that yoga and Buddhist meditation may be linked with healthier gut microbiome profiles.
- Some studies reported increases in beneficial bacteria and metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids.
- The findings are hard to interpret because many participants also followed vegan or vegetarian diets, which can strongly affect the gut microbiome.
A new systematic review has looked at whether yoga and meditation can affect the gut microbiome.
The answer is possibly, but the evidence is still very limited.
Researchers screened 247 titles and abstracts, but only four studies met the criteria for inclusion.
One study looked at yoga and three looked at Buddhist meditation.
Together, they included 440 healthy adults from China and the United States.
Across the studies, yoga and meditation were associated with changes in gut bacteria that looked broadly favourable.
These included increases in bacteria such as Bacteroides, Faecalibacterium, Roseburia and Lactobacillus.
Some studies also found changes in metabolites, including short-chain fatty acids.
That is interesting because the gut microbiome is linked with metabolism, immunity, inflammation and the gut-brain axis.
Stress and mental health can also affect gut biology.
So it is plausible that mind-body practices could have some effect.
But there is a major problem.
Many participants in these studies also followed vegan or vegetarian diets.
Diet is one of the strongest influences on the gut microbiome.
That makes it difficult to separate the effect of meditation or yoga from the effect of food.
The review also found a lack of high-quality randomised controlled trials.
- Mental sharpness can add or subtract nearly an hour from your day
- Yoga and Tai Chi better than medication for treating insomnia
- Knee osteoarthritis pain reduced by yoga
That means we cannot say with confidence that yoga or meditation directly caused the microbiome changes.
Still, the idea is worth studying properly.
Yoga and meditation are low-risk for most people and already have evidence for stress reduction and wellbeing.
If future trials show they also affect gut health, that would be useful.
For now, though, the microbiome claim remains promising rather than proven.
