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... Since the human gut microbiome is intrinsically linked to health, this could have implications that have gone unnoticed before now.

In particular, slow transit times and constipation have been linked with metabolic and inflammatory disorders, as well as neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease.

Figuring out the microbiome profiles associated with these gut transit times could help develop new ways to treat and manage these conditions.

"By taking into account the interindividual and intraindividual differences in gut transit time, we can advance our understanding of diet"microbiota interactions and disease-related microbiome signatures," writes a team led by nutritionists Nicola Procházková and Henrik Roager of the University of Copenhagen.

"Altogether, a better understanding of the complex, bidirectional interactions between the gut microbiota and transit time is required to better understand gut microbiome variations in health and disease." ...