Gut microbiome modulation for military resilience and performance

A range of technologies are being developed to modulate the human gut microbiome, aimed at resolving gut dysbiosis and restoring normal host function. Although limited, a subset of studies have begun to evaluate these technologies within healthy human populations. This could provide approaches to mitigate the impact of occupational stressors on military personnel to ensure their operational effectiveness and resilience is maintained, and could also extend to enhancing the physical or cognitive performance of an individual beyond their baseline potential. Research using in vivo models and healthy human populations suggest that cognition, mineral absorption, muscle resilience, endurance and structural integrity, and injury recovery are modified by the gut microbiome. However, the regulations that govern the use of these technologies are largely focused on their use in treating disease and promoting health, which could hinder such applications. Therefore, whilst the use of gut microbiome modulation could present opportunities to enhance resilience and performance in military personnel, more research in healthy human cohorts is needed, alongside the development of effective regulatory frameworks supporting wider applications.