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Efficient Gut Bacteria Linked to Obesity/Weight Gain ?
Washington University researchers, in two recent papers in the journal
"Nature" put forward evidence of a statistical link between efficient gut bacteria and weight gain. One study was in mice, another in humans. Not everyone agrees that the statistical correlation is cause and effect. Two versions of published writeups of these studies are below. Just extracts are given here...... ----------------------- New Scientist Magazine http://www.newscientist.com/article/...ur-weight.html The amount of weight an animal gains from eating depends partly on the types of microbes found in its gut, a new mouse study reveals. Mice with microbes that are better at extracting energy from food end up fatter, researchers say. And when obese people diet, they lose some of these fattening microbes from their guts, according to a related report. snip Compared with Bacteroidetes bacteria, Firmicutes bacteria might have a wider range of enzymes for breaking down complex carbohydrates, the researchers say. This could make them more efficient at extracting energy from food, which our bodies ultimately convert into fat. "Striking result" In a related study, Gordon’s team determined the microbial makeup of 12 obese people by conducting a genetic analysis of their faeces. This 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. In the end, Bacteroidetes made up about 15% of their gut flora. “It’s a striking result and it’s constant across all of these different people,” comments David Relman at Stanford University in California, US, who did an earlier, landmark genetic analysis of human gut bugs (Science, vol 308, p 1635). “It’s not just having microbes, it’s the particular makeup that might matter,” he adds. Journal: Nature (DOI: 10.1038/nature4441022a) and (DOI: 10.1038/nature05414) --------------------------------- Los Angeles Times http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...adlines-nation Experts cautioned that it was too soon to manipulate gut bacteria in the hopes of becoming slimmer. The proliferation of the efficient bacteria may be the result of obesity and not its cause, said Dr. Richard Atkinson of the Obetech Obesity Research Center in Richmond, Va., who was not involved in the research. "If they are right, this could really be a significant advance," he said. "But I am not sure they are interpreting their data right. Correlation is not causation." Neurobiologist Hans-Rudolf Berthoud of Louisiana State University's Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, who was not involved in the research, agreed. "This doesn't show that the bacteria cause obesity, absolutely not," he said. More likely, he said, is that hormonal changes in the gut caused by weight loss alter the distribution of bacteria. Atkinson questioned whether the small difference in efficiency between the two types of bacteria was sufficient to explain weight gain. Gordon thinks they are. "The differences don't have to be great, but over the course of a year, the effects can add up," he said. The two studies were funded by the National Institutes of Health and the W.M. Keck Foundation. -- 1) Eat Till SATISFIED, Not STUFFED... Atkins repeated 9 times in the book 2) Exercise: It's Non-Negotiable..... Chapter 22 title, Atkins book 3) Don't Diet Without Supplemental Nutrients... Chapter 23 title, Atkins book 4) A sensible eating plan, and follow it. (Atkins, Self Made or Other) |
#2
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Efficient Gut Bacteria Linked to Obesity/Weight Gain ?
Jbuch wrote: Washington University researchers, in two recent papers in the journal "Nature" put forward evidence of a statistical link between efficient gut bacteria and weight gain. One study was in mice, another in humans. Not everyone agrees that the statistical correlation is cause and effect. Two versions of published writeups of these studies are below. Just extracts are given here...... ----------------------- New Scientist Magazine http://www.newscientist.com/article/...ur-weight.html The amount of weight an animal gains from eating depends partly on the types of microbes found in its gut, a new mouse study reveals. Mice with microbes that are better at extracting energy from food end up fatter, researchers say. And when obese people diet, they lose some of these fattening microbes from their guts, according to a related report. snip Compared with Bacteroidetes bacteria, Firmicutes bacteria might have a wider range of enzymes for breaking down complex carbohydrates, the researchers say. This could make them more efficient at extracting energy from food, which our bodies ultimately convert into fat. "Striking result" In a related study, Gordon's team determined the microbial makeup of 12 obese people by conducting a genetic analysis of their faeces. This 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. In the end, Bacteroidetes made up about 15% of their gut flora. "It's a striking result and it's constant across all of these different people," comments David Relman at Stanford University in California, US, who did an earlier, landmark genetic analysis of human gut bugs (Science, vol 308, p 1635). "It's not just having microbes, it's the particular makeup that might matter," he adds. Journal: Nature (DOI: 10.1038/nature4441022a) and (DOI: 10.1038/nature05414) --------------------------------- Los Angeles Times http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...adlines-nation Experts cautioned that it was too soon to manipulate gut bacteria in the hopes of becoming slimmer. The proliferation of the efficient bacteria may be the result of obesity and not its cause, said Dr. Richard Atkinson of the Obetech Obesity Research Center in Richmond, Va., who was not involved in the research. "If they are right, this could really be a significant advance," he said. "But I am not sure they are interpreting their data right. Correlation is not causation." Neurobiologist Hans-Rudolf Berthoud of Louisiana State University's Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, who was not involved in the research, agreed. "This doesn't show that the bacteria cause obesity, absolutely not," he said. More likely, he said, is that hormonal changes in the gut caused by weight loss alter the distribution of bacteria. Atkinson questioned whether the small difference in efficiency between the two types of bacteria was sufficient to explain weight gain. Gordon thinks they are. "The differences don't have to be great, but over the course of a year, the effects can add up," he said. The two studies were funded by the National Institutes of Health and the W.M. Keck Foundation. -- 1) Eat Till SATISFIED, Not STUFFED... Atkins repeated 9 times in the book 2) Exercise: It's Non-Negotiable..... Chapter 22 title, Atkins book 3) Don't Diet Without Supplemental Nutrients... Chapter 23 title, Atkins book 4) A sensible eating plan, and follow it. (Atkins, Self Made or Other) Interesting. but as stated above, whether there is actual cause and effect hasn't been proven. Also, never really thought about this before, but it raises an obvious question. If bacteria are critical to digestion and metabolism of nutrients, what happens when people take broad spectrum antibiotics which kill most bacteria? |
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Efficient Gut Bacteria Linked to Obesity/Weight Gain ?
wrote in message ps.com... Interesting. but as stated above, whether there is actual cause and effect hasn't been proven. Also, never really thought about this before, but it raises an obvious question. If bacteria are critical to digestion and metabolism of nutrients, what happens when people take broad spectrum antibiotics which kill most bacteria? Look up C. Diff , or Herxheimer Reactions. |
#4
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Efficient Gut Bacteria Linked to Obesity/Weight Gain ?
Looking at the wikipedia entry for it the label of pseudoscience comes
to mind as this is said to be part of the highly questionable "detox" scool of nonsense. |
#5
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Efficient Gut Bacteria Linked to Obesity/Weight Gain ?
"Interesting. but as stated above, whether there is actual cause and
effect hasn't been proven. Also, never really thought about this before, but it raises an obvious question. If bacteria are critical to digestion and metabolism of nutrients, what happens when people take broad spectrum antibiotics which kill most bacteria?" The bacteria are those in the large gut. They play little or no role for the major part of digestion in the small gut. They break down food substances which aren't digested in the small gut and free the calories for human absorption where otherwise it will just be passed. Antibiotics disrupt the large gut bacteria and cause gi problems sometimes but don't otherwise disturb normal digestion in the small gut. Almost all digestion occurs in the small gut. |
#6
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Efficient Gut Bacteria Linked to Obesity/Weight Gain ?
What is perhaps more important to the question of the role of ratios of
bacteria and different nutrients in ones diet,ie. low this or that eaten. They tested different diets in humans to see if it made a difference. Low carb or low fat diets produced the same results. As people lost weight the ratio between the two types of bacteria changed regardless. The principle at work here is that one of the types found in fat people are more efficient in converting more calories in the large gut from otherwise undigestable food products. Even though the difference is small over a year extra calories each day adds up to weight gain. The real question is why the change occurs relatie to weight loss. Rodents without bacteria fed either the "fat" or "lean" bacteria were fat or normal in weight accordingly which suggests some active process at work. We hear of people who have problems losing weight even when reducing calories, this in part could account for that. If the "lean" bacteria could be caused to increase in ratio and maintained at the higher level in fat people weight loss might occur over time because of the reduced conversion of calories absorbed in the large gut as they also reduced calorie intake otherwise. |
#7
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Efficient Gut Bacteria Linked to Obesity/Weight Gain ?
wrote in message u.edu... Looking at the wikipedia entry for it the label of pseudoscience comes to mind as this is said to be part of the highly questionable "detox" scool of nonsense. C. Diff is a myth? Many hospitals and nursing homes will be happy to hear this. |
#8
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Efficient Gut Bacteria Linked to Obesity/Weight Gain ?
Diet determines the nature of the gut flora. Treating the flora without
changing the diet is useless. A high grain diet will screw up your gut flora and your health. Change the diet to more healthy foods and your health and gut flora will change accordingly. TC Jbuch wrote: Washington University researchers, in two recent papers in the journal "Nature" put forward evidence of a statistical link between efficient gut bacteria and weight gain. One study was in mice, another in humans. Not everyone agrees that the statistical correlation is cause and effect. Two versions of published writeups of these studies are below. Just extracts are given here...... ----------------------- New Scientist Magazine http://www.newscientist.com/article/...ur-weight.html The amount of weight an animal gains from eating depends partly on the types of microbes found in its gut, a new mouse study reveals. Mice with microbes that are better at extracting energy from food end up fatter, researchers say. And when obese people diet, they lose some of these fattening microbes from their guts, according to a related report. snip Compared with Bacteroidetes bacteria, Firmicutes bacteria might have a wider range of enzymes for breaking down complex carbohydrates, the researchers say. This could make them more efficient at extracting energy from food, which our bodies ultimately convert into fat. "Striking result" In a related study, Gordon's team determined the microbial makeup of 12 obese people by conducting a genetic analysis of their faeces. This 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. In the end, Bacteroidetes made up about 15% of their gut flora. "It's a striking result and it's constant across all of these different people," comments David Relman at Stanford University in California, US, who did an earlier, landmark genetic analysis of human gut bugs (Science, vol 308, p 1635). "It's not just having microbes, it's the particular makeup that might matter," he adds. Journal: Nature (DOI: 10.1038/nature4441022a) and (DOI: 10.1038/nature05414) --------------------------------- Los Angeles Times http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...adlines-nation Experts cautioned that it was too soon to manipulate gut bacteria in the hopes of becoming slimmer. The proliferation of the efficient bacteria may be the result of obesity and not its cause, said Dr. Richard Atkinson of the Obetech Obesity Research Center in Richmond, Va., who was not involved in the research. "If they are right, this could really be a significant advance," he said. "But I am not sure they are interpreting their data right. Correlation is not causation." Neurobiologist Hans-Rudolf Berthoud of Louisiana State University's Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, who was not involved in the research, agreed. "This doesn't show that the bacteria cause obesity, absolutely not," he said. More likely, he said, is that hormonal changes in the gut caused by weight loss alter the distribution of bacteria. Atkinson questioned whether the small difference in efficiency between the two types of bacteria was sufficient to explain weight gain. Gordon thinks they are. "The differences don't have to be great, but over the course of a year, the effects can add up," he said. The two studies were funded by the National Institutes of Health and the W.M. Keck Foundation. -- 1) Eat Till SATISFIED, Not STUFFED... Atkins repeated 9 times in the book 2) Exercise: It's Non-Negotiable..... Chapter 22 title, Atkins book 3) Don't Diet Without Supplemental Nutrients... Chapter 23 title, Atkins book 4) A sensible eating plan, and follow it. (Atkins, Self Made or Other) |
#9
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Efficient Gut Bacteria Linked to Obesity/Weight Gain ?
"Diet determines the nature of the gut flora. Treating the flora without
changing the diet is useless. A high grain diet will screw up your gut flora and your health. Change the diet to more healthy foods and your health and gut flora will change accordingly." No, as mentioned here and even earlier to you specifically elsewhere, a low carb or low fat diet made no difference in the human part of the study. The above is an example of what is becoming clear while reading newsgroups. The more ignorant one is about the topic the more at liberty to say just about anything about it while those who are informed about it are constrained by knowing the reality of the science involved. It is the flip side of "don't confuse me with the facts". |
#10
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Efficient Gut Bacteria Linked to Obesity/Weight Gain ?
Looking at the wikipedia entry for it the label of pseudoscience comes
to mind as this is said to be part of the highly questionable "detox" scool of nonsense. " C. Diff is a myth? Many hospitals and nursing homes will be happy to hear" I used the other term you offered, "Herxheimer Reactions". It is not a question of the reality of the two things but about the reality of the explanation said to cause them. The Herxheimer Reactions was said to be due to a "detox" program and the release of the "toxins" from tissue in the system causing the symptoms. That is the pseudoscience. |
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