Gut Bugs?

**Jodi** · 07-24-2007, 12:24 PM

Trying to Lose Weight? You May Need to Follow Your Gut

We live in a country in which there are fast food restaurants on every corner. Our grocery shelves are lined with plenty of processed foods filled with refined sugars and harmful trans fats. And in the past decade, the convenience of curbside pick-up has become more popular than cooking our own meals.

That such a reality has led to an alarming number of overweight and obese people may not come as a surprise. But it might startle you to know that even if you abstain from such temptations and consider yourself a healthy eater, you may be prone to gaining weight simply by the nature of your nature.

As soon as you are born, trillions of microorganisms begin to take up residence in your gut. And by the time you've reached your terrible twos, this flourishing community is essentially complete, performing countless functions that include everything from digestion to vitamin production. So what do these microscopic masses have to do with whether or not your daily diet is packing on the pounds? Consider the following.

The microbes in your gut consist mainly of two different types of bacteria bacteroidetes and firmicutes and included among the many jobs they perform is that of extracting calories from the food you eat. This is particularly interesting to researchers analyzing in why some people as opposed to others tend to gain weight more easily.

Recent studies on mice and humans have shown that those with more firmicutes in their gut extracted significantly more calories from the same amount of food than those with more bacteroidetes. Basically, this means that two different people of relatively similar weight can eat the same exact portion of a certain food, but the dieter with more firmicutes in his or her gut would consume a higher number of calories.

One study in particular tracked a dozen obese people for one year as they followed a predetermined diet. Before embarking on the diet, their gut bacteria levels consisted primarily of firmicutes. But as they progressed and lost more weight, scientists noticed that their bacterial levels changed and began to resemble those of leaner people. That is, they contained a higher concentration of bacteroidetes. These and other studies are prompting researchers to look beyond traditional theories about why some people are more prone to weight gain while others are not.

Although still new, the science behind whether or not our gut bacteria play a role in our body weight holds promise for many Americans who struggle daily with being overweight. If indeed shedding pounds could be as simple as manipulating the balance of bacteria in our intestines, it would undoubtedly revolutionize the way we think about dieting. For now though, it is simply too soon to tell, and when it comes to losing weight, a good old-fashioned healthy diet and regular exercise remain the most effective solution.
Personal Health Care: April 2007

Other studies and articles to back it all up:
Your gut reaction influences your weight - health - 20 December 2006 - New Scientist
Obesity alters gut microbial ecology
Gut microbes' partnership helps body extract energy from food, store it as fat

**Bakerboy** · 07-24-2007, 01:29 PM

To help me digest my food better I drink kefir on an empty stomach every morning. It's a probiotic. Great for people with digestion problems or if you are lactose intolerant.
http://www.pjbs.org/pjnonline/fin94.pdf

**Uthinkso** · 07-24-2007, 01:53 PM

Hmmmm....interesting study. I can see it now, bacteria pills and supplements will corner the market. 2015 they will now have a miracle weight loss pill.

**bio-chem** · 07-24-2007, 07:13 PM

how do these compare with the worms i brought back from the philippines with me?

**P-funk** · 07-24-2007, 09:08 PM

his revealed that these individuals had a higher ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes bugs than lean people involved in the study. For example, Bacteroidetes microbes constituted 5% of the obese people’s gut flora, but 20% of the lean subjects’.

After a year of either a carbohydrate- or fat-restricted diet, the obese individuals lost weight and the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes bugs shifted towards that of their lean counterparts.

So what are they trying to say.....the obese people were all "jacked up", then they lost weight and they weren't so "jacked up" and in fact they were more similiar to their lean cohorts?

**Jodi** · 07-24-2007, 10:06 PM

I don't know exactly but the reason I brought all this up is because I was tested for these microbials. I am far from obese and I showed show extremely high furmicutes and extremely low bacteroidetes.

I've always thought it didn't take much for me to survive. The lab told my doctor that they haven't seen these high of numbers in someone that wasn't obese before. I'm fighting a battle I tell ya

**P-funk** · 07-24-2007, 10:14 PM

Did they tell you why those numbers were so high? Under what conditions were you tested? What do you do to treat it? How many people are diagnosed with this problem....studies seem to be more in rats than humans. Why did they decide to test you for this problem? Where you having more problems with digestion? stomach aches? Or did they just decided to "run a test" for the sake of running a test?

Judging by the quote from that study above, the lean people had the higher percentage of in their gut flora???

**Jodi** · 07-24-2007, 10:19 PM

Yeah, i've been having digestion issues again and they found out why. I won't go into details but it was found with this test and I'm on my my feared drug.........antibiotics because of it.

They can't really perform the tests on humans because there are no sterile human except for newborns and they aren't going to inject newborns with bacteria.

They have found it to be quite consistent with people with slow metabolisms, like mine, to have this ration of bacterias according to the lab and my doctor.

**P-funk** · 07-24-2007, 10:34 PM

how did they go the test though? How accurate is the test and what are its limitations?

**Jodi** · 07-24-2007, 10:38 PM

I'm not answering how the test is done

However, it is the most accurate lab for this kind of testing in the US.

**P-funk** · 07-24-2007, 10:40 PM

ah....gotcha. say no more.

you have had these digestion problems for over a year now!

**Jodi** · 07-24-2007, 10:44 PM

Yeah I know and its too bad we never did this test. 3 days of treatment so far and it's night and day difference.

**P-funk** · 07-24-2007, 10:47 PM

antibiotics work

**Jodi** · 07-24-2007, 10:49 PM

I know but they also might be the culprit for making things worse for me

This whole charade started after I was in the hospital with pneumonia a year and a half ago and pumped up with antibiotics and steroids.

**P-funk** · 07-24-2007, 11:01 PM

don't be so quick to throw the baby out with the bath water though.....antibiotics have great applications, just because you had a bad experience with them (maybe they were over used) doesn't mean they are terrible.

I once went out and drank so much I puked and got sick for 2 days. But all alcohol is not bad. Just in that instance.

**SamEaston** · 07-25-2007, 01:23 AM

The problem with antibiotics is that, not only do they kill the target bacteria, they also kill the majority of the human commensal microflora - most of which provide a significant level of protection to the human host.

This is especially noticable in the gut where the removal of the 'friendly' bacteria means that we are no longer able to digest our food properly. At this stage, stomach aches are the least of your worries! To maintain a high level of good bacteria in the gut we need to take probiotics on a daily basis, or probiotics to start off with, then continue with prebiotics. This is especially important when taking high dosage antibiotics.

So much damage has been done by dishing out antibiotics left, right and centre over the past 20 years. To me, antibiotics should be a last line of defence, especially in those with gut issues. Im sure many more people have been prescribed antibiotics - and taken them thinking it will solve their problems, only to come out worse on the other side!

**P-funk** · 07-25-2007, 06:54 AM

right, but they do have their place.

the problem is that sometimes they hay just be prescribed haphazardly by a "trigger happy" doctor.

You can't take anything like that without some sort of side-effect. You have to weight the consequenses. There is a time and a place for it, and hopefully the doctor understands that time and place....unfortunatly, one of the problems with western medicine is that they just prescribe everything all the time.

**SamEaston** · 07-25-2007, 07:02 AM

Absolutely agree.

What astounds me is that some of the side effects of antibiotic use can be avoided by simply supplementing the diet with probiotics, yet everyone i speak to who is on a course of antibiotics knows nothing about this. Doctors are one of the main groups of people who should be up to date with this sort of information.

**Jodi** · 07-25-2007, 09:31 AM

Oh I take probiotics, more than most people. I still don't think antibiotics are a good option for me at all.

**tucker01** · 07-25-2007, 09:36 AM

Does anyone have any info on probiotics while taking antibiotics?

**Jodi** · 07-25-2007, 09:40 AM

There isn't much out there on it no. What I do know is that you are suppose to take probiotics 3 hours before or after the abics so that it won't kill them.

**SamEaston** · 07-25-2007, 10:16 AM

As far as i know, the gut commensal microflora is affected equally by the antibiotics - that is, they all die. The point of the probiotic supplement is to provide the body with a means to cope with the food coming through the gut (by providing some of the bacteria that act upon it). As these bacteria die and are excreted by the body within a few days anyway (ie, in someone not taking antibiotics), it is necessary to supplement these bacteria every day during antibiotic treatment and for a few days following treatment. This allows the recolonisation of the gut with 'good' bacteria, which -by a process of competitive exclusion - prevent potentially pathogenic bacteria taking over and causing other issues.

**Jodi** · 07-25-2007, 10:21 AM

Yes but personally I feel everyone should be taking probiotics on a daily basis.

**SamEaston** · 07-25-2007, 10:33 AM

I agree with you!

I do, and feel so much better for it!

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