In the world of wellness and health content, few areas of our anatomy attract more interest lately — and specious claims — than the gut microbiome.

This vast ecosystem of bacteria and microorganisms within our intestines shapes our health in profound ways that go well beyond digesting food — affecting our immune system, mood, cognition, metabolism and much more.

But public awareness of the microbiome's central role in our well-being has also given rise to a market of advice-givers and products playing up the idea that we need to constantly test, reset, or somehow optimize this