Could gut bacteria influence the type of diet you should follow?

tess5036

I came across this article. It examined two groups, one on a high fibre diet, and one on a standard diet (in Denmark). The findings showed that the high fibre diet used in the study could help some people loose weight, but only if they had a level of Prevotella bacteria in their gut. Not sure if this will help anyone, but it does emphasise the need to find out what works for us as individuals.

Link to the original article
http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/vaop/naam/abs/ijo2017220a.html?foxtrotcallback=true

Link to an easier to read version
http://www.msn.com/en-gb/health/fitness/there-could-be-a-scientific-reason-youre-not-losing-weight-following-this-popular-diet-—-heres-how-to-find-out/ar-AAscWGJ?ocid=spartanntp

bellaesprita000

Potentially. The gut is where a majority of your body's microbes reside. They perform many important functions related to nutrient acquisition, but also others including immunity and mental well-being.

My thoughts:

Fiber is essentially a "prebiotic", food for your gut bacteria. If you are getting enough, you are maintaining the health of gut microflora and preventing bad flora from overgrowing.

If your diet was lacking in fiber before the diet regimen and then you increase it, you might see all kinds of health benefits besides weight loss.

They make no mention of how many calories overall each group was eating per day.

The conflicts of interest in this research concerns me.

More research needs to be done to be done to go from Prevotella spp. to specific species/strains that impact diet.