Would like to share my research with you...
Options
songbyrdsweet
Posts: 5,691 Member
So a lot of you who have been here a while know me. For those who don't, I'm a 2.5 year PhD student studying the gut microbiome, obesity, and skeletal muscle. I would like to share what I've uncovered so far because I think it's cool, and also because it gets lonely having no one to talk to that knows about my stuff. :sad:
After I post this I'll be gone for about 3 hours, so I hope the thread doesn't die. :laugh: Anyway, here it goes:
Your intestines are packed with multiple trillions of bacteria. Every person has a different profile of bacteria, just like a finger print. When you were born, you had none, but as you were exposed to bacteria during birth and for the 2 years following, your gut became 'colonized'. These bacteria are your 'gut microbiome'.
Everyone has a mix of healthy and harmful bacteria. Healthy bacteria keep your intestines covered in mucous, they digest fiber to make gas and some fatty acids for your intestinal cells to 'eat', and they kill harmful bacteria. Harmful bacteria are covered with something called lipopolysaccharide (LPS) which causes a type of inflammation in your body. This isn't like a bruise or an illness; it's almost undetectable, but it causes things like insulin resistance. It might also cause obesity and type 2 diabetes in the long run. When the harmful bacteria die, the LPS comes off of them and floats around in your intestine.
The LPS can bind to fat that you eat and be carried into circulation. This isn't that bad, though, because it ends up being deactivated in your liver. When LPS leaks between your intestinal cells, that's a problem. Your intestine can become 'leaky' if you are obese and/or diabetic. It can also be leaky if you happened to be 'colonized' with bad bacteria. If you have a very leaky gut, more LPS escapes and causes problems.
A big problem with LPS is that it can mess up your skeletal muscle metabolism. Skeletal muscle--the kind that moves your body--is the largest metabolically active organ in your body. LPS can make your muscle unable to use fat for energy. Instead it can only use glucose. The fats are deposited around the muscle cells which eventually causes the muscle to become insulin resistant as well. This means you have a lot of insulin, glucose, and fat in your blood stream, which leads to obesity.
I am looking at ways to make more healthy bacteria grow. You can do this by eating a high-fiber diet, flax seeds, preobiotics (like inulin fiber), and taking probiotics in very high doses (in the billions of cells per day). Avoiding a high-fat, high-sugar diet is a way to prevent harmful bacteria from growing.
I hope you guys found this a little bit interesting at least.
There is much more to the picture but this is the main part. I could go into all the hormones and everything but that would take forever! Just wanted to let you know that obesity is more than what you eat. It's what's inside you, eating!
After I post this I'll be gone for about 3 hours, so I hope the thread doesn't die. :laugh: Anyway, here it goes:
Your intestines are packed with multiple trillions of bacteria. Every person has a different profile of bacteria, just like a finger print. When you were born, you had none, but as you were exposed to bacteria during birth and for the 2 years following, your gut became 'colonized'. These bacteria are your 'gut microbiome'.
Everyone has a mix of healthy and harmful bacteria. Healthy bacteria keep your intestines covered in mucous, they digest fiber to make gas and some fatty acids for your intestinal cells to 'eat', and they kill harmful bacteria. Harmful bacteria are covered with something called lipopolysaccharide (LPS) which causes a type of inflammation in your body. This isn't like a bruise or an illness; it's almost undetectable, but it causes things like insulin resistance. It might also cause obesity and type 2 diabetes in the long run. When the harmful bacteria die, the LPS comes off of them and floats around in your intestine.
The LPS can bind to fat that you eat and be carried into circulation. This isn't that bad, though, because it ends up being deactivated in your liver. When LPS leaks between your intestinal cells, that's a problem. Your intestine can become 'leaky' if you are obese and/or diabetic. It can also be leaky if you happened to be 'colonized' with bad bacteria. If you have a very leaky gut, more LPS escapes and causes problems.
A big problem with LPS is that it can mess up your skeletal muscle metabolism. Skeletal muscle--the kind that moves your body--is the largest metabolically active organ in your body. LPS can make your muscle unable to use fat for energy. Instead it can only use glucose. The fats are deposited around the muscle cells which eventually causes the muscle to become insulin resistant as well. This means you have a lot of insulin, glucose, and fat in your blood stream, which leads to obesity.
I am looking at ways to make more healthy bacteria grow. You can do this by eating a high-fiber diet, flax seeds, preobiotics (like inulin fiber), and taking probiotics in very high doses (in the billions of cells per day). Avoiding a high-fat, high-sugar diet is a way to prevent harmful bacteria from growing.
I hope you guys found this a little bit interesting at least.
There is much more to the picture but this is the main part. I could go into all the hormones and everything but that would take forever! Just wanted to let you know that obesity is more than what you eat. It's what's inside you, eating! 0
Replies
-
I'm sorry, when you refer to "leaky gut" between the intestinal cells are you talking about a leak into the vascular space, interstitial space or peritoneal space?0
-
In terms of fat and sugar, how high is "high?"0
-
Hello,
This is my first day and I am just wondering how you all are losing weight? Is it just by tracking what you eat and exercising!?0 -
cheers for this, really interesting read but scary. its like reading a medical illness book though - i'm now convinced i have a 'leaky gut'
0 -
very interesting post! thanks for sharing!0
-
Hello,
This is my first day and I am just wondering how you all are losing weight? Is it just by tracking what you eat and exercising!?
Yes it is pretty simple, you track everything you eat, if you exercise then you eat those calories back and you lose weight.
Welcome!0 -
cheers for this, really interesting read but scary. its like reading a medical illness book though - i'm now convinced i have a 'leaky gut'
Boy am I glad I was not drinking anything when I read this response -= thanks for the laugh today!0 -
WOW! It is funny because I just found out I have H pylori and my doc. said something about my colon ? She told me to eat a high fiber diet as well... I wonder if this is why I am experiencing all my stomach cramps.. I do have a question though... What can you tell me about H pylori? I have read all about it but can it affect me the same as described in your post?0
-
I'm such a nursing student nerd so I lovelovelove learning about the body! Thanks for sharing =]0
-
Awesome! Thank you... I am trying to figure this website out.. how do you see when someone replies to your post! lol0
-
Very interesting, thanks for taking the time to post this. I'm sure your research has been much more technical, but thanks for putting it up in simple terms.0
-
Any recommendations on types and dosages of pre- and pro-biotics? I'm ready to shop.0
-
You might add that over-use of antibiotics can also kill the 'good' bacteria in your body and cause a lot of harm. Should only use as absolutely necessary and as low 'strength' as possible.0
-
Great post thank you!0
-
Awesome post.... I'm trying to get into medical school and I love hearing about new research. Keep posting.0
-
Very interesting. I enjoyed reading this.0
-
Bump, great post!!0
-
Wow, really interesting. Thanks for sharing!0
-
song, I love it when you dazzle me with your brain.0
-
Interestingly enough last summer I had to take probiotics (combination of pre and pro biotics in a capsule form) due to a course of heavy antibiotics. I started losing weight without even trying. I lost about 6lb in the course of 2 months and I felt much better as far as my stomach and digestive system go. I was sure it had something to do with the good bacteria and it seems a lot of research I could find on google scholar confirmed that. What you are saying confirms it once again, thank you for sharing!0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 392K Introduce Yourself
- 43.6K Getting Started
- 259.8K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.7K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 402 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.8K Motivation and Support
- 7.9K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.4K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 998 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.4K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions