Vertigo

A genetic link to vertigo

There's strong evidence that gut bacteria play a genuine role in vertigo. Vertigo, the sensation that you or your surroundings are spinning, has several distinct types. A large genetic study using data from 18,340 people found relationships between specific gut bacteria and two forms of vertigo, benign paroxysmal vertigo and central vertigo, meaning the bacteria may actually contribute to the risk, not simply show up alongside it.

Source: BMC Neurology, Potential mechanisms of gut microbiota influence on different types of vertigo

Why gut bacteria would affect balance

The same study found that the gut bacteria's effect on vertigo risk was partly explained by measurable factors: blood sugar levels, obesity, depression, and a specific inflammatory marker called interleukin-18. This suggests gut bacteria may influence vertigo indirectly, by shifting inflammation and metabolism in ways that then affect the balance system.

Separately, some gut bacteria are known to produce histamine, a compound that in excess can affect the inner ear and trigger dizziness. Researchers studying vestibular disorders have flagged this as one plausible route between an overgrown or imbalanced gut microbiome and balance symptoms.

Source: Vestibular Disorders Association, What Does "Gut Health" Mean?

A different type of vertigo, a different gut link

Ménière's disease, a condition that causes repeated vertigo attacks alongside hearing changes and ringing in the ears, has its own separate connection to the gut. Researchers tested a marker of gut wall strength, sometimes called "leaky gut," in 14 people having an active flare of Ménière's disease, 12 people with the condition but no current symptoms, and 20 healthy people. Two separate gut permeability tests, and a marker of gut inflammation called faecal calprotectin, all came back significantly higher, but only in the group having an active flare. People with Ménière's disease who weren't currently symptomatic looked no different from healthy people on any of these tests.

This suggests the gut lining may become measurably weaker specifically during a Ménière's attack, not as a constant, unchanging feature of the condition, which is a genuinely useful clue for researchers trying to understand what triggers individual episodes.

Source: American Journal of Otolaryngology, Intestinal permeability and Ménière's disease

A real trial tested a specific probiotic strain

Vestibular migraine, a condition that causes vertigo attacks alongside migraine symptoms, was tested directly in a large clinical trial. Researchers enrolled 247 patients, and 204 completed a 4-month trial comparing a specific probiotic strain, Lactobacillus casei Shirota, against a placebo. By month 2, the two groups looked similar. By month 4, the probiotic group showed significantly greater improvement than the placebo group, both in vertigo severity and in a standard dizziness scale. The probiotic group also improved more on anxiety and depression scores, symptoms that often accompany ongoing vertigo.

The researchers were careful to note that a placebo effect was clearly present in both groups, people often improve somewhat just from taking part in a trial, but the extra improvement in the probiotic group was still statistically significant on top of that. Worth remembering here: a probiotic only adds new bacteria to the gut, it doesn't guarantee they'll stay. Those bacteria still need the right food to keep growing once they arrive, much like bringing new animals into a zoo achieves nothing if there's no ongoing food supply to sustain them.

Source: PubMed, The probiotic Lactobacillus casei Shirota attenuates symptoms of vestibular migraine

What this means for you

New, severe, or persistent vertigo needs proper medical assessment, since some causes, including Ménière's disease and vestibular migraine, need their own specific treatment plan. Alongside that, supporting a diverse gut microbiome through a varied, plant-rich diet is a reasonable habit given the genetic and trial evidence above. That's the same idea behind GutLab, everyday gut health starts with regularly feeding the microbiome a broad range of plant-rich ingredients.