Your Microbiome May Be The Reason Your Diet Crashed
Your Microbiome May Be The Reason Your Diet Crashed
Do you feel like you can never stick to a diet? Your lack of willpower may have nothing to do with it. In fact, the bacteria in your microbiome may be to blame for your recent diet crash. A recent study showed that successful dieters had an abundance of Phascolarctobacterium, and those who struggled to lose weight had a different bacteria present—Dialister.
A Mix Of Microbes May Determine Your Diet Success
Research now suggests that your mix of microbes in your gut can determine whether your diet will be a success or failure. The recent study conducted by Purna Kashyap, a gastroenterologist at the Mayo Clinic, tracked people following a lifestyle-intervention program for weight loss. The program consisted of a low calorie diet lasting three months.(https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/08/06/635362706/diet-hit-a-snag-your-gut-bacteria-may-be-partly-to-blame)
The result? Participants who lost at least 5% of their body weight had a different gut makeup than those who did not lose 5% of their body weight. The participants who lost weight had an abundance of bacteria called Phascolarctobacterium. On the other hand, those who did not lose weight were seen to have Dialister, a bacteria associated with a failure to lose weight.
While these two bacteria are mentioned in the study, it is likely that there are many strains of bacteria that impact dieting.
What Bacteria Has To Do With Weight Loss
When we eat we digest most of our food, but some of our food cannot be absorbed. We don’t have the proper enzymes to break down absolutely everything we consume. Our bacteria will consume what we don’t, and then the bacteria produce byproducts that we can digest. As a result, we consume calories from our bacteria. Certain types of bacteria are more likely to create excess calories during this process than others. This process is vital in times of survival when food is scarce, but when not in survival mode, this process can actually cause us to carry excess weight. Roughly 5-15% of all of our calories come from this digestive process.
What Now?
This is a preliminary study that will require additional follow up studies and research. However, this does shed light on how our microbiome plays a huge role in the state of our overall health. If you want to restore the balance in your gut, a good place to start is with a daily probiotic to cleanse out unwanted bacteria and allow healthy strains of bacteria to flourish.