Stomach bug makes food yield more calories
Mice with a hefty dose of a certain gut bacteria are fatter.
Scientists have identified a key microbe in our guts that helps us glean more calories from food. The discovery backs the idea that the type of microbes in our gut help to determine how much weight we gain, and that seeding the intestine with particular bugs could help fight obesity.
Read the story here.
Comments
It is an interesting finding. However, tampering with the delicate balance of the microflora in our system demands foolproof research. Also, a question that arises is that, will a reduction in the proportion of M. smithii have deleterious effects on the normal process of digestion?
Posted by: Miss Prem Deepa Narasimhan | May 31, 2006 05:26 AM
The find presented is very thought provoking. Research along this line could aid immensly in understanding the complexities involved in fighting obesity, a major problem in todays world. However, caution should be excercised while providing such data to beauty clinics which are currently gaining a lot of popularity.
Posted by: Miss Amrita Duraiswamy | May 31, 2006 05:36 AM
Ms. Pearson mentions in the text of this article that "Samuel's team is now interested in examining whether overweight people have more of this kind of bacteria, or underweight people less."
I would like to suggest consideration that M. smithii may also play a survival enhancement role, by increasing the efficiency of caloric extraction from foodstuffs. This may be the teleology of its association and prevalence among human gut flora.
Therefore, it may be worthwhile to consider an hypothesis that M. smithii may, in seeming paradox, be most prevalent amongst the calorically-challenged-- i.e., those who live in areas of chronic food scarcity, as well as those whose external environment is one of caloric abundance, but whose internal environment is poorly suited to caloric assimilation for reasons of pathology.
Obesity is a problem of global importance, indeed, yet famine continues to be a significant human condition as well. M. smithii could then perhaps have a therapeutic role for the calorically-challenged at both ends of the spectrum: lack, as well as excess.
Posted by: Karriem Ali, MD | June 1, 2006 05:03 PM
Very interesting research with implications not just in obesity, but also for efficiency of feed disgestion in farmed animals. It would have been good to include the results obtained with the same diet fed to mice with a normal gut microflora.
with best regards,
Kevin Healey
Yahoo! Probiotics Science Group.
(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/probiotic_science_group/)
Posted by: Kevin Healey | June 8, 2006 04:54 AM
Glad to see from the comments that there is also some interest on the subject from the underweight perspective. As someone who falls into the poor caloric assimilation catagory I have a personal interest in the progress of any research on the subject. Following a trip to Asia a number of years ago I experienced a pronounced but unexplained weight loss. During the trip I contracted a number of intestinal infections (including amoebic dysentery, blue-green algae, C. Diff. among others) which were treated with a variety of antibiotics including some very potent ones such as Flagyl. Since then no doctor has been able to positively identify a cause for (or treat) my weight loss. Subsequently my weight has stabilized but is still significantly lower than prior to the trip. I liken the cause of my gut's inefficiency to it's microflora being a forest that was clear-cut and then never grew in again with quite the same robustness of the original. Research like this holds great promise that we will someday better understand the complex ecology of our internal microflora and be able to apply that knowledge to aid the health of those from both ends of the weight control spectrum.
Posted by: Niels Godfredsen | July 11, 2006 11:04 PM
When I read this article, the effect of M.smithii on obesity did not register very much on my mind. By far the more important function of this orgnism is to my mind, its ability to render the gut environment condicive to the growth of normal flora which, by occupying that environment inhibit the growth of pahtogenic transient flora. By understanding the activity of this organism we bring forward the time when 'friendly' organisms rather than the more 'violent' antibiotics can be prescribed for the treatment of GIT infections. If the organisms make us fashionably thin in the process, this should be regarded as a bonus.
Posted by: Adebayo Lamikanra | July 12, 2006 07:11 PM
This paasage is really effective for us to understand the specific principal of the secret of keep lean figure.but I think it still needs the experience.becourse,if is will be used in the real human body,the potential safety problems should be considered in advance!
Posted by: Zhelong | September 10, 2006 03:09 PM
So 8,800 people every day get a 'stomach bug' in Ireland and have to take day off work. That's according to Safefood, the Food Safety Promotion Board.
Apparently they've done all kinds of research into it and have decided that Northern Ireland and real Ireland must collaborate over the outbreaks of gastro-intestinal diseases.
What they fail to have taken into account is that at least 75% of these 'stomach bugs' are just people chancing their arm and looking for a day off work.
"Sorry boss, I've got a stomach bug. Yeah, must have been something I ate. Got a sandwich from Centra. I reckon the mayonaisse was off. Been shitting my arse off all night. I'll be better tomorrow though."
It's amazing how many of these stomach bugs only last 24 hours, if they even last that long. It's a dangerous business making up illnesses though. I'm not a great believer in God but I reckon there's someone up there having a laugh.
Posted by: Zack Polyanski | December 12, 2006 01:18 PM
Good news
I hope everybody read this article
Thank you for infos.
Posted by: star peri | May 22, 2007 09:29 PM
I feel the system stimulates secretion of more nutrients to feed on this bacteria to work and in turn creates imbalance causing obesity.
Posted by: sandy | September 6, 2007 11:38 AM
This paasage is really effective for us to understand the specific principal of the secret of keep lean figure.but I think it still needs the experience.becourse,if is will be used in the real human body,the potential safety problems should be considered in advance!
Posted by: Adebayo Lamikanra | October 2, 2007 03:50 AM