Are Gut Health and Weight Loss Connected?
Gut Health & Weight Loss
〰️
Gut Health & Weight Loss 〰️
If you have a ‘gut feeling’ that something is preventing you from losing weight, you may be on to something.
As more research emerges, there is substantial evidence supporting the connection between gut health and weight loss. In fact, research is showing that the bacteria living in your gut may impact everything from glucose metabolism, to appetite, and fat storage.
Before we get started, let’s go back to the basics…
The gut microbiome is made up of fungi, bacteria and other organisms that line in the digestive tract. These microorganisms play a large role in the digestion and absorption of nutrients. But their role doesn’t stop there. Gut bugs are involved in many other important processes that extend beyond your gut, including metabolism, body weight, and immune regulation, as well as brain functions and mood.
How are gut health and weight loss connected?
When we eat, our food is broken down through a variety of chemical and mechanical processes so that it can be absorbed and utilized by our bodies. What isn’t utilized is eliminated as waste material (aka poop). The bacteria in our gut play an important role in breaking down the food that enters our digestive track. Interestingly enough, some of those bacteria are more effective at breaking down the food, meaning more calories are able to be extracted. Theoretically, if we have more of those bacteria, our body is absorbing more calories from the foods we eat, making someone more prone to weight gain.
In fact, one research team looked at 77 pairs of twins, one of whom was obese and one who was lean in body structure. The researchers found that those who were obese had different gut bacteria than their lean twins. In particular, obesity was associated with lower gut diversity, meaning there were fewer types of bacteria in the gut. This highlights the importance of diversifying the plant based foods in our own diets.
Aside from digestion, your gut bugs play an important roll in inflammation. For example, gram negative bacteria species produce chemicals such as lipopolysaccharides (LPS). These chemicals cause inflammation within the gut, which in turn may contribute to weight gain and insulin resistance.
A study conducted in 2009 found that when mice were given LPS, they gained as much weight, and saw similar increases in insulin and blood sugar levels, as mice fed a high fat diet.
Your gut bugs also play a role in hormone production and appetite. Studies have shown that different bacteria in the gut can impact how much of hormones, such leptin (signal satiety), ghrelin (increased hunger) and peptide YY (reduced appetite), are produced by the body.
As new research continues to emerge, we’ve been able to identify specific bacteria strains that play a role in weight management. For example, Prevotella Copri, a member of the Prevotella group has been associated with lower insulin levels.
In a study conducted in 2018, researchers looked at links between the different bacteria in participants’ guts and how that impacted weight loss when on a calorie-controlled diet. They found that the individuals who had more bacteria belonging to the Prevotella group, compared with those that belonged to the Bacteroides group, lost weight and body fat more easily than participants who had equal amounts of each.
The Take Home
The makeup of your gut microbiota is unique to you! Your diet and lifestyle choices have a real impact on the diversity of your gut microbiome. Eating a plant focused diet, filled with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fermented foods, nut/seeds and healthy fats, in addition to regularly engaging in physical activity, can increase the abundance of health-promoting bacteria, which in turn may protect against inflammation and rising metabolic markers, ultimately improving ones ability to regulate their weight.
