Gut Bacteria & Obesity – A Hidden Connection?

Here is another of my comments on a post at Jimmy Moore’s about gut bacteria

Jimmy Moore’s post:

Gut Bacteria & Obesity – A Hidden Connection?: You’ve gotta read this outstanding column from a registered dietitian I’d never heard of before named Peter Curcio who says “the universal fear of dietary fat” is very likely “what’s behind the current obesity epidemic.” He notes our high-carb diet has caused our healthy gut flora to become “imbalanced” and that we should be looking at these “gut buddies” (as Dr. Steven Gundry describes them) as “an organ” in our bodies with specific functions. Cut the grains, flour, sugar and omega-6-rich vegetable oils from your diet to reduce inflammation and “keep our bacteria microflora happy and thriving.” It’s the way our bodies were meant to run optimally for controlling weight and health and it has nothing at all to do with calories.

My comment:

In part I would agree with Peter Curcio, the average carbohydrate rich diet surely has caused not just our stomach bacteria to become imbalanced but also the enzymes that our digestive system uses to further break down food. If it were just an imbalance between good bacteria that probably wouldn’t be that bad but unfortunately the high carbohydrate diet that most people consume in the west actually promotes the growth of harmful bacteria whose presence and toxins that they generate go on to poison the body in a whole host of ways giving rise to numerous symptoms that are unfortunately blamed on other things so the cause of the problem is never really tackled.

Another big problem that is very much a hangover from the high carbohydrate camp is the assumption that we must have lots of fiber in our diet in order for our digestive system to work properly. Various scientific writings have gradually trickling through that showed that we don’t actually need as much fiber as has been previously though and in fact the high consumption of fiber which I should add passes through the body and digested actually acts as a nice medium for those same bad bacteria to grow in and multiply as they pass through our digestive system. You can find more about this by visiting doctor-natasha.com.

All in all it’s not difficult to see that there is a definite connection between the quality of the bacteria we have in our digestive tract and not just obesity but many other health problems that beset a population whose diet is just far to high in carbohydrates and not rich enough in good quality proteins, fat, vitamins and minerals that can be easily obtained though a sensible low carbohydrate diet.

Cheers,

Mark

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Link to the article