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 — 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 network of bugs inside us.

Gut researchers say, in many cases, what’s being promoted has leapfrogged the evidence.