Researchers from Washington University, Missouri, have recently published interesting findings concerning metabolism foods. It seems that by eating the wrong kinds of food not only causes you to put on weight and slow your metabolism but also promotes an overgrowth of a certain kind of bacteria found in the gut.
According to a report in the Science Translational Medicine journal, these bacteria thrive on a diet of junk food whilst others find it more difficult to survive. The overall result is that our metabolism is affected negatively and we are more likely to pile on the pounds.
So it seems that indulging your craving for fast food does you more harm than you might think!
The scientists involved came to their conclusion after feeding a number of mice on a fatty diet before extracting a sample of their gut bacteria and transplanting this into the stomachs of other mice previously fed on a healthy diet.
Alarmingly, these lean mice showed a rapid increase in their body weight despite the fact that they continued to be fed a low-fat, balanced diet.
The inescapable conclusion appears to be that our metabolism and body weight are both actively controlled by the types of bacteria we have in our stomachs - at least in part. And the balance of these bacteria are directly influenced by what type of food we choose to eat.
However, the good news is that we can positively manage our ‘gut flora’ by regulating our diet sensibly and many people already buy probiotic drinks and yoghurts available from the supermarkets. Obesity experts believe that this recent discovery will promote the manufacture of more products specifically designed to boost the number of gut bacteria that thrive on healthier foods thereby helping to boost metabolism and aid weight loss more easily. As time goes on, it is more and more likely that we will see a move towards these types of targetted metabolism foods appearing on the supermarket shelves.
Until that happens though, steer clear of fast food if you want to keep your stomach bacteria working to help you lose weight, not pile it on!