Gut Health and Weight Loss: 4 Valuable Tips

Are you struggling to lose weight?

You might be surprised to learn that the health of your gut may be playing a role. Your gut is responsible for digestion and the absorption of food, as well as the production of many enzymes and hormones linked to digestion. It also houses over one thousand species of microorganisms that together number over forty trillion (1), which help to maintain gut health. An imbalance in the gut microbiome can lead to problems like inflammation, obesity, and even autoimmune diseases (2).

The diversity and amount of bacteria in our gut are controlled by our habits, especially what we eat. In addition, these microorganisms as a whole are known as the “second brain”. In that capacity, it can affect signals to the brain, including hunger and appetite signals (3).

As many of you are aware, eating too many calories, eating fatty and sugary foods and not getting enough exercise, play a part in gaining weight. However, research into how the health of our guts and the bacteria that live there, impact our weight has grown exponentially in recent years.  Scientists have discovered that the gut bacteria in overweight and obese children (4) and adults (5) are different from in those who are lean.

Increase vegetable intake

When it comes to weight loss, we all know that a balanced diet is key. This includes eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, which are not only good for your waistline but also for your gut health. That’s because the healthy bacteria in our gut thrive on high-fibre foods like cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, and other leafy greens. So, by including these foods in your diet, you can give your gut the nutrients it needs to stay healthy and help you lose weight in the process. Of course, it’s important to remember that no one food is a magic bullet for weight loss. But by adding fruit and vegetables to your diet, you can help support your gut health and set yourself on the path to successful weight loss.

 Reduce sugar intake

When you are making an effort to reduce the amount of weight you are carrying, one of the first things you should do is remove sugar from your diet. This is due to the fact that consuming an excessive amount of sugar not only contributes to weight gain but can also lead to inflammation in the body. When inflammation is present in our bodies, we have a greater tendency to store excess fat (6).

In addition to this, sugar is terrible for our digestive system. A condition known as dysbiosis can develop, which can result in a decrease in beneficial bacteria. More importantly, it can lead to an increase in dangerous bacteria that feed on the sugar and multiply. This can cause inflammation, which creates changes on the inside of the gut and can then lead to a syndrome known as leaky gut. Leaky gut is strongly linked to obesity and can also cause weight gain (7). You can help enhance the health of your digestive tract and lose weight at the same time if you reduce or eliminate sugar from your diet.

Scientists have also discovered that sugar can block the production of a key gene, BT3172, which is necessary for a specific species of gut bacteria, Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, to be established in the gut. These bacteria are beneficial as they help to digest the parts of fibrous vegetables that humans are not able to (8).

Drink kombucha

A strain of bacteria known as Akkermansia muciniphila has been shown to protect against obesity, diabetes, and inflammation. These bacteria are abundant in the fermented tea known as kombucha (9). However, just drinking kombucha and continuing to eat anything you fancy will not help you trim that waist. This is because a high saturated fat diet can reduce the amount of these bacteria in the gut. We all know that to lose weight, we need to reduce the amount of saturated fat we eat. Therefore, cutting down on fatty meats, processed meats, lard, and butter can help this strain of bacteria support your weight loss (10).

In addition to drinking kombucha, there are also other fermented foods that will increase the “good” bacteria, keep the gut itself as healthy as possible, and play a part in weight loss.  These include yoghurt, kefir, kimchi, and sauerkraut (11).

Take probiotics and prebiotics

Research published this year (2022) has shown that scientists have been able to separate a specific strain of bacteria that is only found in lean individuals. Incredibly, the research has shown that this bacterial strain can help reduce the dangerous layers of fat that surround the vital organs in overweight individuals. What is more, the reduction in this fat over a three month period was approximately 35%. The best part is that this happened without any changes in diet or increased exercise.

This is a truly incredible breakthrough that could help many people achieve a healthy weight. However, this research is still in its infancy, so don’t get too excited just yet. The exact probiotic and prebiotic supplement used is not yet available and is likely to be prescribed by doctors only to obese patients initially (12).

Bariatric surgery helps people with obesity lose weight. It is a last resort where changes are made to the stomach in order to limit food intake, and is usually only for people with a BMI over 40. It is not for the faint-hearted (13). However, besides helping people lose weight, it looks as if the surgery leads to changes in the microorganisms that live in the gut. These changes appear to help lower blood sugar levels and improve how glucose is processed in the body. This can benefit people with type 2 diabetes and play a part in preventing the individual from gaining weight. Due to these findings, researchers are investigating the development of probiotic supplements that mimic this condition to enable obese individuals to benefit while avoiding the risk and expense of bariatric surgery (14).

Although these weight management probiotic supplements are not yet available, it is worth taking a regular probiotic supplement to ensure that your gut is as healthy as possible. In addition, as the cause of weight gain is more than likely down to diet and a lack of exercise, these factors still need to be taken into account when looking to lose weight.

Faecal implantation

Although identical twins share the same DNA, they can have different microbiota. This was discovered through research into why one twin could be obese while the other was lean. To study this phenomenon, scientists looked into transplanting the faeces of lean mice into obese mice. They were excited to find that this changed the microbiota of the obese mouse and caused it to lose weight (15).

Following on from this research, faeces from lean individuals have been given to obese individuals in an attempt to help them lose weight. This process, known as faecal transplantation, is not new. The Chinese have used it for hundreds of years to treat diarrhoea and constipation. Although it may sound unappealing, eating someone else’s poop is actually safe, as the poop is contained within a capsule and the recipient is tested thoroughly for any underlying health issues that may cause a problem beforehand.

Unfortunately, the results of faecal transplants for weight loss have not been as successful in humans. However, the research is still ongoing, and scientists are hopeful that they will eventually be able to perfect the technique (16). This will enable medical professionals to give their obese patients “poop pills” instead of potentially life-threatening surgery.

With all this being said, the recipients of these capsules or weight management probiotic supplements should also follow a healthy diet full of fibrous vegetables and low in sugar to avoid the benefits being reversed.

Supporting the gut so that it is packed full of healthy, beneficial bacteria has definite benefits for weight management. Therefore, it is good advice to eat or drink fermented foods, take a regular probiotic supplement, feed your gut with fibrous vegetables, and keep an eye on the science.