In 173 hospitalized patients, more sugar in the two days before antibiotics lined up with a less diverse gut microbiome

What the research found

Study (hospital diet records, plus mice). ScienceDaily carried the NYU Langone account on 7 October 2026. Anqi Dai, Annamaria Ballweg, William Jogia, Jonas Schluter, Jonathan U. Peled, Marcel R. M. van den Brink, and colleagues report in Nature (2026; doi 10.1038/s41586-026-11077-3). The paper was posted online on 30 September 2026. Staff logged 9,419 meals for 173 people hospitalized with blood cancers, a group that often receives antibiotics and stem-cell transplant care, and sampled the gut microbiome daily. For every extra 100 grams of sugar in the 48 hours before treatment, alpha diversity fell by an additional 21 percent. Sugary intake plus antibiotics also lined up with more Enterococcus faecium. In mice, the antibiotic biapenem plus dietary sucrose raised gut Enterococcus 16.3-fold by day 3 and 33.4-fold by day 6. The authors say surviving bacteria may use the sugar to expand, and that a trial is still needed before a diet change can be said to improve outcomes. Schluter has filed intellectual property related to the microbiome and disclosed industry ties managed by NYU Langone. The release does not give sex or age. Educational notes. This is not a diet prescription.

Evidence level: Animal study. Results in animals or cells often don't carry over to people.

Read the original at NYU Langone / Nature