Fight against obesity

The search for answers to weight loss continues in research labs around the world.

Dr Peter Hill, who specialises in Metabolic Syndrome, said the growing interest in probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics offer insights into the inner workings of our digestive system and how these tiny organisms relate to weight-related issues.

Dr Hill also specialises in Metabolic Syndrome, which is a cluster of chronic conditions that include, among others, increased blood pressure, a high blood sugar level or Type 2 diabetes, excess body fat around the waist, abnormal cholesterol (low HDL cholesterol) and high blood fat levels (triglyceride).

He said that gut microbiota is a term used to describe what we used to call our gut flora.

“This is the population of microbes living in our intestine, which are said to be 100 trillion organisms. The human body is thought to consist of about 10 trillion cells. If we have 10 times the number of bugs living in us than we have cells, we had better believe that these tiny fellows are really, really important to us,” said Dr Hill.

Dr Hill explained that the genetic and metabolic potential of our gut microbiota is both enormous and complex. The human gut microbiota is thought to consist of over 1 000 different bacterial species with 100 times the number of genes found in the human genome.

“Their importance is that they are sometimes referred to as our hidden metabolic organ,” he said.

He said that research has shown that there are differences in the gut microbiota of people who are overweight or obese and those who are not. Similar differences occur in people who have Type 2 diabetes and those who do not.

“It is obvious that changes to the gut microbiota are associated with at least some, if not all, chronic diseases of the metabolic syndrome,” said Dr Hill.

Disruption of gut microbiome, which is called dysbiosis, appears to be a contributing factor in the cause of chronic metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes.

“The most obvious culprits are the antibiotics that are well-known causes of dysbiosis. Other medicines, pesticides, food preservatives and even the chlorine in our drinking water are thought to play a role in upsetting the balance of our gut microbiome,” explained Dr Hill.

Furthermore, Dr Hill said that Probiotics are the live microorganisms, prebiotics are fermented ingredients that are able to change the composition and or activity of the gut microbiota, and a synbiotic is a combination of both a prebiotic and a probiotic.

“It follows, therefore, that if the gut microbiome has a really important role to play in influencing human health, then what we give our bugs to eat must also be important and this is where it is important to understand what foods to eat and what foods to avoid. Similarly, any foods that may damage the lining of the gut, causing so-called leaky gut syndrome, should be off the menu.

“Foods that contain gluten, with anything made from wheat appearing to lead the pack, should be either avoided altogether or the consumption thereof kept to a minimum. Eating processed foods, especially those that contain preservatives and other additives, crisps for example, may also not be the best thing we can do to protect our gut microbiota,” he said.

Therefore, Dr Hill suggests that if you are overweight, obese, have diabetes or you simply want to improve your health, you should think about adding a daily dose of fermented foods to your diet which provide natural support to our gut microbiota.

“In addition to fermented foods, there are various probiotic, prebiotic or synbiotic supplements available that you can take to assist the gut microbiota. But before doing so, make sure you speak to a health practitioner with a good knowledge of this important aspect of health,” he said.