Obesity has now become an epidemic health condition, as it has been regarded as one of the prime reasons for several chronic health disorders such as arthritis, high blood pressure, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, strokes, and several types of cancers. Obesity is the result of a number of varied factors such as environmental factors including lifestyle behaviors; physical activity; psychological factors such as anxiety and anger, which in turn leads to an influence over one’s eating habits; illnesses and hormonal irregularities like hypothyroidism, depression, and some rare kinds of diseases affecting the brain; and certain types of drugs like steroids and antidepressants. Along with these cluster of factors, studies now reveal that stomach bacteria may also cause obesity. This article further deals with the information on how stomach bacteria causes obesity and other health related problems.
Researchers studied the link between stomach bacteria and obesity on animals by removing the microbes from their stomach and feeding them a high-calorie diet. In addition, experiments were conducted on animals without removing their microbes by feeding them high-calorie diet, in order to monitor the difference of their body weight. Later, the results revealed that animals without any microbes ate more food, without gaining any additional body weight. It was also discovered that some types of microbes promote storage of body fat and prevent certain proteins from inhibiting the formation of body fat. The research was primarily focused on two types of bacteria: the bacteroidetes and the firmicutes.
Usually the type as well as the nature of a microbe living in the stomach and intestine affects the nutrients and calories extracted from food. Certain studies reveal that the stomach consists of both good bacteria, known as microflora, and bad bacteria, known as pathogens. Usually, these organisms play a pivotal role for the proper functioning of your body, apart from metabolizing food as well as protecting your body against severe ailments like asthma and storing calories in body fat tissue. Meaning that stomach bacteria act as a mediator and biomarker to safeguard the body from disease and plays a major role in the digestion process by breaking down complex polysaccharides into sugar that your body can use, however due to several conditions such as an intake of antibiotics, poor diet, lack of sleep, and stress, it has been discovered that the growth of bad bacteria now outnumbers the growth of good bacteria.
It has been found that the level of bad bacteria is extremely high in obese people when compared to thin people. This in turn makes you susceptible to weight gain, obesity, and eventually a host of severe ailments such as diabetes type 2, osteoarthritis, and sleep apnea. Likewise, obese people mostly have a high level of Firmicutes bacteria (also called gram-positive) such as bacillus, clostridium, enterococcus, and lactobacillus, in their stomach as well as intestines when compared to thinner people who have more bacteroidetes bacteria (also called gram-negative) in their stomach. However, there are no clear evidences or studies on the point that Firmicutes tends to cause obesity.
According to a new branch of study, known as, infectobesity, certain types of viruses are also considered one of the major causes for obesity. Apart from bacteria and viruses, pathogens are also regarded as a major reason for obesity. Sometimes, even microbes such as archea, fungi, and protozoa can cause obesity.
One of the best ways to balance the bacteria in the stomach is to avoid or minimize the intake of such items as carbohydrates, alcohol, nuts, seeds, grains and flour products, animal proteins, acidic fruits, caffeine, and fast food. In addition, it is recommended to include such items in your daily diet as minerals, raw salads, ocean vegetables, healthy oils, and fermented food as well as drinks. Equally important is to avoid sleep disturbances, fatigue, and stress.
