Weight and the health of our gut flora
More and more research is emerging that draws a direct link between our weight and the health of our gut flora (including its role in the success of gastric bypass surgery), but this shouldn’t be a surprise. The connection has been known, and manipulated, for years by the agricultural industry.
Antibiotics—which kill the natural bacterial flora in the human body that influences how we break down and absorb the nutrients that help keep us lean and healthy—are known as growth promoters. Farmers have been using antibiotics for more than half a century to fatten cattle, pigs, and chickens. With the use of these medications, animals gain more weight more quickly, on less food. I’ll say that again: antibiotics stimulate growth with less food.
Food craving and weight loss
There is other research on the topic of weight and gut flora as well, two of the more interesting and recent pieces being related to how gut bacteria influence which foods we crave. Here are a few more examples:
Butyrate—one of the fatty acids produced by good gut bacteria—has been suggested to promote feelings of satiety (a feeling of fullness and satisfaction). (Nutr Rev 07;65(2):51–62) (Aliment Pharmacol Ther 08:27(2):104–119) This, obviously, can help prevent overeating.
Fermented milk
A Japanese company gave 87 overweight individuals 100 grams of fermented milk twice a day. The milk consumed by half the group contained the bacteria Lactobacillus gasseri. After 12 weeks, those individuals lost an average of 2.2 pounds—and there was no weight loss in the other group. (Eur J Clin Nutr 2010 March 10. [E-pub ahead of print PMID:20216555] Specifically, the participants lost 4.6 percent of their visceral fat (fat around the stomach) and 3.3 percent of their subcutaneous fat (fat just under the skin). Their hip circumference was reduced by 1.7 cm (almost ¾ of an inch) and their waist went down by 1.5 cm (just over ½ inch). Researchers feel that Lactobacillus gasseri somehow decreases the amount of fat absorbed from the intestines.
Antibiotics and Weight Loss
Researchers evaluated the use of antibiotics in 11,532 children born in Britain’s Avon region in 1991 and 1992. Almost 30 percent of the infants were given antibiotics sometime during the first six months of their life. By age 38 months, the children in the antibiotic group had a 22 percent greater likelihood of being overweight. (Int J Obes (Lond) 21 October 2012 [Epub ahead of print]) Antibiotics. Doing it at such a critical period of development, such as early childhood, has long-lasting effects.
How Gut Bacteria Contributes to Longer Life
The more diverse our bacterial flora is, the more effective it is and the better our overall health tends to be. To see this, you need look no further than a study that examined gut microbes in the elderly.
When researchers looked at the gut bacteria of 178 elderly individuals over the age of 65 (average age 78, none of whom were being treated with antibiotics), they found that the microbes varied extensively depending on where the individual lived and the state of their overall health.
The people who lived independently in the community had the most varied microbacterial flora and were the healthiest. People who lived in long-term assisted living homes had less diverse microbacterial flora and were frailer.
The research team, led by Paul O’Toole of University College Cork in Ireland, tied this difference to the diet of each respective group. Though the foods eaten by people who moved into long-term residential facilities changed immediately upon entry (becoming much more uniform and based on government-issued nutritional data), it took about a year for the profile of their bacteria to change. It was during that transition time when the individuals’ health started declining the most. What makes this study so intriguing to me is the speed at which a person loses his or her health to a decline in the numbers and variety of intestinal bacteria. The clear takeaway from this is that eating a varied diet that includes fermented foods is a key to maintaining gut flora and, by extension, strength and vitality.
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