Medical expert of the article
New publications
A tablet of obesity may soon appear
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
Many people dream of a miracle pill that will help you lose weight. Perhaps in the near future their dreams will become a reality. Scientists managed to detect intestinal bacteria that normalize the metabolism, help to effectively reduce everything, but to achieve a positive result you will need to follow a certain diet.
Experts from several research centers in America have found bacteria in the intestinal flora of lean people that help normalize metabolism and prevent obesity. How diets wiggle on the metabolism of a person has been studied for a long time. There is a contradictory view that the intestinal microflora can contribute to obesity. It is also known that foods that contain a lot of fiber (vegetables, fruits) promote the proliferation of beneficial bacteria.
American scientists, in the course of their studies, came to the conclusion that the intestinal microflora of a slender person will help to remove excess kilograms full. The study of the intestinal microflora and the influence of bacteria on metabolism decided to start with twins, which have different complexities, since in their case the disturbance of the metabolic process does not have a hereditary predisposition, but is provoked by external factors, in particular by nutrition. Scientists have studied more than one and a half thousand twin women between the ages of 21 and 32 and among them four pairs were identified, in which the twins had a significant difference in weight. In these women, scientists took samples of intestinal microflora, which was then injected into experimental mice, whose own microflora was completely absent. Such animals are specially prepared and grown in sterile conditions to carry out similar experiments. Three or four mice received a single sample of human microflora, the rodents were kept in different cells, all rodents were fed a special food with a high fiber content and a low fat content. In the course of the experiment, scientists discovered that mice that had full fledged microflora were more rapidly gaining weight, and mice with a "slim" microflora remained the same.
The difference in this case is in no way connected with the amount of food or immunity, here the microflora of the intestine was of primary importance. Slim there are enzymes that quickly break up incoming polysaccharides, as well as poorly digestible starches, which contributes to weight loss, while the microflora of complete people supports biochemical processes that lead to excess kilograms.
To make sure that the bacteria in the intestines can actually regulate a person's weight, the scientists conducted another experiment: they placed all the rodents in one cage. Since mice have such a habit of eating feces from each other, and at the same time bacteria from the intestine, after 10 days of cohabitation, full mice began to lose weight, and "hudyshki" remained the same. This suggests that the bacteria of slender mice got into the body of full mice and improved metabolism, and the bacteria of complete mice did not affect the microflora of skin cells.
In the microflora of slender (and humans and rodents) there are bacteria Bacteroidetes, which significantly affect the metabolism, promote weight loss, they also do not allow the reproduction of bacteria that contribute to obesity. During periods of cohabitation, no lean mouse gained excess weight.
Scientists also found that the effect of microflora in one direction or another directly depends on nutrition. Mice are usually given food with a small amount of fat and large carbohydrates. When the mice developed a special menu that was close to human, the results were as follows: in the body of full mice that received fatty food, the bacteria Bacteroidetes did not survive, so the weight of the mice remained at a level, while the lean mice that fed "healthy food" ( vegetables, fruits, lean meat, vegetable oil) have not changed.
All these studies make it possible to hope that a bacterial preparation will soon appear that will promote, with proper nutrition, the normalization of microflora in the intestines, thereby helping to get rid of excess weight.
[