Alteration of faecal microbiota balance related to long-term deep meditation.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Cross-sectional comparative study comparing monks to local controls
PubMed 36760344 · doi:10.1136/gpsych-2022-100893
What was done
Fecal samples and plasma were collected from 56 Tibetan Buddhist monks practicing long-term deep meditation and neighboring residents acting as controls. Gut microbiota composition was profiled using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Differential bacterial taxa were analyzed with linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe), metabolic functions were predicted using PICRUSt, and plasma biochemical markers were measured.
What was found
The abstract reports that α-diversity indices differed significantly between monks and controls, without reporting exact statistics. The meditation group showed significant enrichment in the genera Prevotella, Bacteroides, Megamonas, and Faecalibacterium. Functional prediction revealed enrichment in glycan biosynthesis, metabolism, and lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis pathways in the meditation cohort. Monks also had significantly lower plasma total cholesterol and apolipoprotein B levels. No exact numerical values, effect sizes, or p-values were provided in the abstract.
Why it matters
This study provides preliminary observational evidence that years of dedicated meditation practice correlate with distinct gut microbiome compositions and improved lipid profiles.
Limits
The sample size is small (n = 56). The cross-sectional design cannot establish causality. Uncontrolled confounders inherent to monastic life—such as strict dietary patterns, sleep schedules, and physical activity—are not isolated from the effect of meditation. Microbiota functional capacity was based on computational prediction (PICRUSt) rather than direct metabolomics, and no quantitative values or exact group sample sizes are reported in the abstract.
Cited by
- context Practicing 5 minutes of meditation per day produces measurable changes in the gut microbiome and the brain.