Gut Bacteria and Your Weight

If fat seems to run in your family, blame your gut bacteria. (or an apple a day keeps the doctor away!)

New research at Cornwell University has identified a family of microbes called Christensenellaceae that appear to help people stay lean -- and having an abundance of them , or not, is strongly genetic.

There you have it.  This idea of probiotics in our guts has been studied extensively over the past decade.

Researchers say that the use of antibiotics may be eliminating bacteria that help people regulate appetite and metabolism.  Also, the over use of antibacterial cleaning products, body soaps, and hand sanitizers has killed many of the beneficial bacteria. 

Hand sanitizing is not a method of cleaning.  It cause mutation of harmful bacteria.  Most people just rub it in and it should be wiped off with a paper towel.  It can disinfect, but because it is used on the hands it is subject to internal ingestion. 

Commonly used hand sanitizers may contain ingredients linked to cancer, reproductive and developmental toxicity, allergies, neurotoxicity, endocrine disruption, organ system toxicity and irritation to your eyes, skin, or lungs.

Hand sanitizers, including one of the leading brands, Purell, have been given a seven out of 10 score for toxicity (with 10 being the highest hazard) by the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database. According to Skin Deep, ingredients in Purell Hand Sanitizer are linked to:

• Cancer
• Developmental/reproductive toxicity
• Allergies/immunotoxicity
• Neurotoxicity
• Endocrine disruption
• Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
• Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

Further, several of the ingredients have noted violations, restrictions and warnings and have been labeled as contamination concerns, occupational hazards, and causing biochemical or cellular level changes.
Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can also be harsh on your skin, leading to tiny cracks on your skin’s surface -- and these cracks may actually provide an entryway for disease-causing organisms.

Having or not having a healthy flora within the gut is being directly linked to use of antibiotics and antibacterial products.  Humans as they develop play host to trillions of tiny bacteria micro-organisms, which outnumber human cells by about tenfold.  Bacteria coat every inch of the skin, the mouth, the nose, the ears, the genitals, and particularly the gastrointestinal track.  They not only digest food and help fight off invaders, but also produce vitamins and chemicals that help regulate the immune system. 

This microbiome, as it is called, has evolved along with humans, and even small disruptions have been implicated in a long list of health problems, including obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol, belly fat, cancer, and atherosclerosis, or plaque buildup in the arteries.

Studies show that we humans are changing.  Americans today have only about two-thirds the number of bacterial species of a native tribesman in the Amazon who has been exposed to fewer antibiotics.

Findings in the study of healthy gut bacteria (microbiome) show they are affected not just by age, antibiotics and antibacterial cleansers; but also by how many plants you eat, how much alcohol you drink, how much you exercise, and how much sleep you get on average.

So where do you get the best microbiomes in food.  There are researchers, Donna Gates "The Body Ecology Diet" and Brenda Watson "The Skinny Gut Diet" that advocate special diets for healthy microflora in the gut.

Elimination of antibacterial products and using less antibiotics could stimulate the resurgence of a healthy gut.  But, also eating more vegetables, not drinking alcohol or drinking little alcohol, and getting more daily activity/exercise would have another significant impact.

In September, Medical News Today reported on a study suggesting that Granny Smith apples could protect against obesity by balancing the proportions of "good" gut bacteria.

The researchers of that study, from Washington State University, explain that the fibers and polyphenols present in Granny Smith apples are unscathed when they reach the colon, even after exposure to stomach acid and digestive enzymes. The bacteria in the colon then ferment these compounds, producing butyric acid that triggers the growth of good gut bacteria.

To summarize - maybe we need to just wash with a basic soap and water and eat the apple a day!

Next article will be on healthy cleaning products.