The science

The gut and the brain run on one loop.

Every ingredient on this page is graded by how strong its evidence actually is, labeled with what that evidence does not yet show, and reviewed by an independent clinical advisory board.

Rick Pescatore, DO
Rick Pescatore, DO Board-certified emergency physician · Editor-in-Chief, Emergency Medicine News · 100+ publications
Verify independently: Google Scholar ↗ Merck Manual ↗ Emergency Medicine News ↗ Interview ↗
The category is real

Not in your head. In your nervous system.

The conditions behind chronic bloating, reflux, queasy mornings, and the fog that travels with them now have a name in medicine: disorders of gut-brain interaction. They are defined, measured, and studied by the same international body that defines the rest of gastrointestinal medicine.

The clinic stopped treating the gut and the brain as separate systems. We formulate the same way.

The gut-brain signaling loop: nerves, hormones, immune signals, and the microbiome connecting the gut and the brain
The gut and brain signal each other constantly through nerves, hormones, immune messengers, and the microbiome. When that loop runs noisy, symptoms cluster.

What MGB+ is, and what it is not.

It is
  • A daily, over-the-counter supplement built around the gut-brain loop.
  • Open-label: every ingredient and dose printed on the bottle.
  • Formulated to published evidence, with each ingredient graded below for how strong that evidence actually is.
It is not
  • A drug, and not a substitute for one.
  • Tested as a finished formula in a clinical trial. No such trial exists, and we say so.
  • Intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
The evidence, graded

Every ingredient, rated by how strong the evidence actually is.

Seven ingredients do the heavy lifting. Each is graded below on a four-tier scale, with the honest caveats attached. Tap any row for the study type, the dose, and the full brief.

Moderate humanMore than one human study, including randomized trials, though not always in gut-brain conditions.
Preliminary humanSmall or early human studies. Encouraging direction, limited certainty.
MechanisticEstablished human biology. The pathway is understood; outcome studies for this use are limited.
PreclinicalMainly laboratory or animal studies. Human outcome data is not yet available.
Magnesium glycinate Supports normal nerve and muscle function and a settled system Moderate human

Study type: Decades of randomized human trials across many uses, with one of the deepest safety records in supplementation.

In our formula: The shared base of every MGB+ formula, in the well-absorbed glycinate form. Dose printed on each label.

Honest note: One of the most-researched minerals in medicine, and the foundation every formula is built on.

Found in: Clear Cool Calm
See the studies
Ginger root extract 4:1 Supports a settled stomach and a normal nausea response Moderate human Calm

Study type: Randomized human trials for nausea and gastric motility.

In our formula: 100 mg, 4:1 concentrated extract. Studied dose discussed in the brief.

Honest note: The strongest gut-specific clinical evidence among the botanicals here.

See the studies
PEA (palmitoylethanolamide) Supports the body's handling of everyday discomfort Moderate human Clear

Study type: Multiple human randomized trials, studied largely in pain and inflammation.

In our formula: 300 mg. Studied dose discussed in the brief.

Honest note: The human evidence sits mostly outside gut-brain conditions specifically. We include it for the shared pathway, not a brain-fog trial.

See the studies
Mastic gum Supports the stomach lining and upper-gut comfort Preliminary human Cool

Study type: Small human trials in dyspepsia and H. pylori.

In our formula: 500 mg. Studied dose discussed in the brief.

Honest note: The studies are small and the results mixed.

See the studies
Zinc-carnosine Supports the gastric mucosal barrier Preliminary human Cool

Study type: Human data on gastric mucosal protection.

In our formula: 5 mg, chelated complex. Studied dose discussed in the brief.

Honest note: The evidence is gastric, not gut-brain specific.

See the studies
Thiamine (fat-soluble B1) Supports nerve function and cellular energy Preliminary human

Study type: Two fat-soluble forms of vitamin B1, allithiamine and benfotiamine, that cross the gut wall far better than standard water-soluble thiamine and reach nerve tissue. Small human studies support fat-soluble B1 in nerve-related symptoms; established biology supports its role in cellular energy.

The two forms: Allithiamine is the garlic-derived form used in our brain-fog and stomach formulas. Benfotiamine, the most-studied fat-soluble B1 in human trials, anchors the calm formula. Both deliver active B1 where water-soluble thiamine cannot.

In our formula: 75 to 150 mg depending on formula. Studied dose discussed in the brief.

Honest note: Benfotiamine carries more human trial data than allithiamine; we label the form in each formula rather than blur them together.

Found in: Clear · allithiamine Cool · allithiamine Calm · benfotiamine
See the studies
Beta-caryophyllene Supports CB2-linked calm signaling Preclinical Calm

Study type: Rodent and laboratory work at the CB2 receptor, with no psychoactive effect.

In our formula: 100 mg. Studied dose discussed in the brief.

Honest note: No human efficacy data yet. We include it for the mechanism and label it honestly.

See the studies

Tap a color to see the formula it sits in. No ingredient here has been studied as part of the finished MGB+ formula; the grades above describe the evidence for each ingredient on its own.

The review layer

Independent clinicians reviewed the framework.

Practicing clinicians who reviewed the BellyMD framework and the evidence behind the formulas.

Joshua D. Niforatos, M.D., M.T.S.

Joshua D. Niforatos, M.D., M.T.S.

Emergency physician and meta-researcher at Hopkins. His JAMA Internal Medicine work on evidence quality shapes how clinicians evaluate gut-brain treatments.

Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

LinkedIn ↗Google Scholar ↗
Sergey M. Motov, M.D.

Sergey M. Motov, M.D.

Emergency physician whose 2015 Annals trial changed how ED doctors treat pain. Practices at Maimonides in Brooklyn.

Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn

LinkedIn ↗Google Scholar ↗
Patrick Reeves, M.D.

Patrick Reeves, M.D.

Army pediatric gastroenterologist. Built the Clinical Action Plans toolkit that brings structured GI care to military families.

Brooke Army Medical Center

LinkedIn ↗Google Scholar ↗
Suzanne Enright, M.Ed.

Suzanne Enright, M.Ed.

(Dr. Rick's Mother-in-Law)

Behavior analyst and clinician. Decades of designing individualized care plans for children and adults living with chronic illness, and leading the multidisciplinary teams that put them into daily practice.

Behavior Analysis & Special Education

Her story →
How the formulas are built

Three standards. No proprietary blends.

  1. Doses track the literature. Each ingredient is included at an amount consistent with the research behind it, and every dose is printed on the label. The studied dose for each is discussed in its brief.
  2. Full disclosure. No proprietary blends and no hidden amounts. The label is the complete recipe.
  3. Independent testing. Every batch is tested by an outside lab for potency, heavy metals, and contaminants. A certificate of analysis is available on request.

Confidence means stating what these formulas will not do, as plainly as what they will.

  • MGB+ supports normal gut-brain function. It does not diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
  • No clinical trial has tested MGB+ as a finished formula. The grades above describe each ingredient on its own.
  • The same pattern does not guarantee the same response. That uncertainty is why the guarantee runs 12 weeks.
  • If you are under care for a GI condition, MGB+ is meant to work alongside that plan, not in place of it.
The published record

How the field arrived here, 2019 to 2026.

Three steps in the clinical literature, each independently verifiable. They establish that the gut-brain target is real and guideline-recognized. They are not evidence for any supplement.

2019

Neuromodulators demonstrate efficacy in functional GI presentations.

Emergency physicians documented durable relief of refractory nausea, cyclic vomiting, and chronic abdominal pain using dopamine-antagonist medications, including droperidol and haloperidol, in patients unresponsive to conventional antiemetics. A November 2019 review in Emergency Medicine News summarized the proposed mechanism: dopamine blockade at the chemoreceptor trigger zone, the brainstem region governing nausea, together with altered gut motility and reduced central amplification of visceral signals.

The clinical implication is structural: the gut and the brain operate as a single circuit, and intervening on the neural side of that circuit produces measurable gastrointestinal effects.

Pescatore R. What to D.O.: Neuroleptic and Psychotropic Drugs for Abdominal Presentations. Emergency Medicine News, November 2019 ↗
2024

GRACE-4 formalizes gut-brain treatment in emergency medicine.

The Society for Academic Emergency Medicine published GRACE-4, an evidence-graded clinical guideline developed under GRADE methodology. Among its recommendations: dopamine-antagonist therapy for cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, a severe cyclic vomiting condition. The guideline marked the first time a major emergency medicine body formally codified treatment of a gastrointestinal syndrome through the nervous system.

An accompanying editorial in Emergency Medicine News, GRACE-4 as a Call to Action, argued that the specialty could no longer discharge these patients with normal labs and no framework.

Borgundvaag B, et al. GRACE-4: Alcohol use disorder and cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome management in the emergency department. Academic Emergency Medicine, 2024 ↗ Pescatore R. GRACE-4 as a Call to Action. Emergency Medicine News, August 2024 ↗
2026

Rome V defines the category and quantifies its prevalence.

The Rome Foundation, the international body that sets diagnostic criteria for these conditions, classifies them as disorders of gut-brain interaction. Its 2026 criteria estimate that a large share of adults worldwide meet criteria for at least one.

MGB+ applies the same nervous-system-first formulation logic in over-the-counter form: nutrients and botanicals selected for their documented activity along the gut-brain axis, at disclosed doses, graded honestly above.

Rome Foundation. Rome V diagnostic criteria for disorders of gut-brain interaction, 2026.

The medicines in this history are prescription dopamine antagonists. MGB+ contains none of them. This record establishes the target, not the molecule. The evidence for what is actually in the bottle appears above, graded honestly and separately.

Find the pattern that fits you →
Evidence FAQ

The questions a skeptic asks first.

What is MGB+, exactly?

A daily, over-the-counter supplement built around the gut-brain loop. It supports normal gut-brain function. It is not a drug, and it does not diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

How do the evidence tiers work?

Each ingredient is rated on four tiers: moderate human evidence, preliminary human evidence, mechanistic, and preclinical. The label tells you how strong the evidence is and where it is still thin. We do not round weak evidence up.

How common are gut-brain conditions?

Common. The Rome Foundation's 2026 criteria estimate that 42.2 percent of adults worldwide meet criteria for at least one disorder of gut-brain interaction. Prevalence describes how widespread these conditions are. It is not a claim that any supplement is needed.

How do I find the right formula?

Match your symptom pattern. The two-minute assessment maps bloating with fog, post-meal heat and heaviness, or queasy mornings to the formula built for it. No email and no diagnosis required.

If one of these patterns sounds like yours.

The quiz maps your pattern in about two minutes. No email, no diagnosis, just a starting point matched to the evidence above.

Find my formula
ClearBloating + brain fog CoolHeartburn + heavy meals CalmQueasy mornings + a nervous stomach

Every first order is covered by the 12-week money-back guarantee. Full refund, keep the bottles.

Stay current

New evidence briefs, as they publish.

When a brief is updated or a new one is added, you get it. Plain-language gut-brain science from a practicing physician. No spam.

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