Mainstream science finally admitting that gut bacteria play a role in preventing obesity

Tuesday, September 17, 2013 by: Rebecca Winters

(NaturalNews) With figures showing one in three Americans are officially considered obese, new gut health research may reveal how obesity takes hold and pave the way to natural cures.

This month's edition of the journal Science published the first study to confirm that a healthy microbial balance in the gut actually effects whether or not a person maintains a healthy weight and metabolism, not the other way around. Having the proper gastrointestinal equilibrium has been shown to play a role in whether or not someone becomes obese or falls prey to related diseases, such as heart disease or type 2 diabetes.

Study participants included four female pairs of identical twins comprised of one clinically obese twin and one lean twin each. Using a representative stool sample from each pair, researchers were able to transplant cultures of the twins' gut bacteria into the 'blank slate' intestines of test mice. Over time, each mouse began to physically resemble its human counterpart.

Even though all the mice were put on the same low-fat diet, researchers found that those with gut microbiomes transplanted from obese women began to get fat anyway, while the mice with gut flora transplanted from the lean women were able to stay lean. The lean mice were also better equipped to break down sugars more quickly without packing on pounds. When obese mice were later introduced to the flora of lean mice, they were also able to lose weight.

The study is groundbreaking in that previous research appears to have mostly focused on the idea that being obese negatively impacted gut health rather than realizing that improper gut health could actually drive obesity. As NaturalNews has previously reported, while diet can affect gut flora composition, it has been hypothesized that the gut flora itself can determine what a person decides to eat in the first place. Studies have shown that these bacteria can actually send chemical 'messages' to the brain that cause cravings for both healthy and not-so-healthy foods. Certain microbial imbalances could contribute to eating more sugar, for example. In turn, a high-fat diet has been found to increase negative gut bacteria growth as well.


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