Diet changes gut bacteria, alters ability to control weight

By William Atkins
Monday, 16 November 2009 21:29

Science - Health

Although many factors contribute to weight gain, U.S. microbiologist Jeffrey Gordon has been collecting evidence to show that the type of foods eaten changes the composition of bacteria in the gut. Whether you have a low-fat or high-fat diet is very influential on your body’s ability to gain weight, and to lose it, too.


According to the latest research study by Dr. Jeffrey I. Gordon, who is the director of the Center for Genome Sciences at Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, having a high-fat, high-sugar diet over a period of less then one day (24 hours) can make it much easier to gain weight and much more difficult to lose it.

Other factors besides food choices also contributes to weight problems in humans, such as genetics given to you by your ancestors, level of exercise and physical activity in one’s life, and the overall environment.

However, Dr. Gordon’s group is building scientific evidence to show that the choices of foods people eat contribute significantly to one’s ability to gain weight and then to lose it afterwards.

The abstract to Gordon’s paper states, “Diet and nutritional status are among the most important modifiable determinants of human health. The nutritional value of food is influenced in part by a person’s gut microbial community (microbiota) and its component genes (microbiome). Unraveling the interrelations among diet, the structure and operations of the gut microbiota, and nutrient and energy harvest is confounded by variations in human environmental exposures, microbial ecology, and genotype.”

In other words, you can improve your health by your diet and its nutritional value. Key to this health improvement is getting the right type of bacteria in your intestines.

Dr. Gordon’s study sounds like a good cautionary note to take with the holiday season fast approaching. And, actually, it sounds like good advice all year round.

Learn more about what a high-fat, high-sugar diet means to your intestines (gut). Check out page two.