4 ms·
As a mere reader of this article, my only question is: Couldn't the bacteria be instead the result of a high body fat percentage?
by anotherarray 10y ago
As a mere reader of this article, my only question is:
Couldn't the bacteria be instead the result of a high body fat percentage?
- nibs 10y agoThe gut biome is self reinforcing. If you eat nothing but sugar (simplified example) the bacteria that thrive will be the ones that most resourcefully consume sugar. Other strains will wither away entirely or to a very insignificant state. Some, like yeast, actually kills 95% of the colony and the other 5% eat it, so it can take years to bring under control in people with immunocompromise (autoimmune disease, AIDS). If you eat nothing but fibrous vegetables (another simplified example) then your biome will be very different. And part of what makes you hungry is the nutrients the bacteria in your gut desire in order to maintain the colony. So you eat the right foods, then your body desires the right foods. You can re-program your biome to an extent by eating differently. And that goes for eating good or bad food. So I suspect (but cannot prove) that this is where the effect comes from.
- DougWebb 10y agoAn FMT jumpstarts that process, by introducing a bunch of colonists from a healthy microbiome all at once. Then you just need to nurture the new arrivals with proper diet, which you'll start to desire thanks to their influence. That's easier than changing your diet first (fighting what your microbiome wants) and hoping to pick up enough different bacteria for them to establish themselves.
- kbutler 10y agoI wonder what the time for adaptation is? That is, if I want to keep my gut biome un-optimized for absorbing calories from my diet, how often should I shift my diet from carb-heavy to protein-rich to ...