permaculture

[Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>]

There is an extensive research project at NCSU, Raleigh NC involving
analyzing contributors' navel and/or gut bacteria
with results recorded in a database for further study. They recognize the
importance of intestinal flora in normal digestion and long term good
health.

<>

My suggestion for weight loss based on personal experience: to allay hunger
leading to overeating use one pod of, for example, an Arbol variety hot red
chile pepper, raw or cooked, best raw/dried.
It is not very hot and the heat does not last long but one bite changes
your hunger pangs. It makes all that delicious food you planned to eat less
desirable, temporarily. Working your way through
one of the small thin pods will enable you to put off a meal completely or,
if you dine anyway, eat less, especially if you eat one or more chiles with
your food.

<>

BBC News - 'Weight loss gut bacterium' found
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-22458428

Bacteria that live in the gut have been used to reverse obesity and Type-2
diabetes in animal studies.

Research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences<http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1219451110>,
showed that a broth containing a single species of bacteria could
dramatically alter the health of obese mice.

It is thought to change the gut lining and the way food is absorbed.

Similar tests now need to be take place in people to see if the same
bacteria can be used to shed the pounds.

The human body is teeming with bacteria - the tiny organisms outnumber
human cells in the body 10 to one.

And there is growing evidence that this collection of bacteria or
"microbiome" affects health.
Obesity

Studies have shown differences between the types and numbers of bacteria in
the guts of lean and obese
people<http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v444/n7122/abs/nature05414.html>
.

"We did not completely reverse the obesity, but it is a very strong
decrease in the fat mass”
Prof Patrice Cani Catholic University of Louvain

Meanwhile gastric bypass operations have been shown to change the balance
of bacteria <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21965092> in the gut.

Researchers at the Catholic University of Louvain, in Belgium, worked with
a single species of bacteria *Akkermansia muciniphila*. It normally makes
up 3-5% of gut bacteria, but its levels fall in obesity.

Mice on a high fat diet - which led them to put on two to three times more
fat than normal, lean, mice - were fed the bacteria.

The mice remained bigger than their lean cousins, but had lost around half
of their extra weight despite no other changes to their diet.

They also had lower levels of insulin resistance, a key symptom of Type-2
diabetes.

Prof Patrice Cani, from the Catholic University of Louvain, told the BBC:
"Of course it is an improvement, we did not completely reverse the obesity,
but it is a very strong decrease in the fat mass".
Prof Colin Hill University College Cork

"It is the first demonstration that there is a direct link between one
specific species and improving metabolism."
Surprise

Adding the bacteria increased the thickness of the gut's mucus barrier,
which stops some material passing from the gut to the blood. It also
changed the chemical signals coming from the digestive system - which led
to changes in the way fat was processed elsewhere in the body.

Similar results were achieved by adding a type of fibre to diets which led
to an increase in the levels of *Akkermansia muciniphila.*

Prof Cani said it was "surprising" that just one species, out of the
thousands in the gut, could have such an effect.

He said this was a "first step" towards "eventually using these bacteria as
prevention or treatment of obesity and Type-2 diabetes" and that some form
of bacteria-based therapy would be used "in the near future".

Prof Colin Hill, a microbiologist at University College Cork, said: "It's a
very exciting study, we've had lots linking bacteria and weight gain but
this is the first time an intervention seems to work.

"I don't think it's feasible that you can eat cream cakes and chips and
sausages all day long and then eat bacteria to reverse all that."

He said it was more likely that the research would lead to understanding of
exactly what happens in the gut, which could lead to tailored dietary
advice for people trying to lose weight.
More on This Story
Related Stories

   -  First census of bugs living on
us<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18422288>
   13 JUNE 2012, HEALTH
   -  Weight loss surgery bacteria
find<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21965092>
   28 MARCH 2013, HEALTH
   -  Obesity link to gut bug
balance<http://www.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6196857.stm>
   22 DECEMBER 2006, HEALTH
   -  Gut bugs 'can affect
behaviour'<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12306431>
   01 FEBRUARY 2011, SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT

 Related Internet links

   - Catholic University of Louvain <http://www.uclouvain.be/>
   - Prof Patrice Cani <http://www.academieroyale.be/n11456/Patrice>