Certain bacteria may help ward off obesity | Hacker News Reader

Certain bacteria may help ward off obesity

latimes.com

45 pointsRyanMcGreal16 comments

Very cool to read ... by the end of the article thought I found myself saying, "well?", as if expecting them to tell me what I could eat to foster the "correct" type of bacteria. Of course, it seems that we're still at the beginning of this kind of research, so there are no well established answers yet.

I'm glad there's finally some evidence to support this theory, but it's not exactly a new line of thinking. There's already been literature published based around the correlation between gut flora and obesity, and one book that stands out and has actionable tips is 'The Diet Cure' [1]. I admittedly haven't got around to implementing it yet myself, but the concepts make sense. Either way, it was originally written in the late 90's, so I wouldn't expect it to be thoroughly modern in its reasoning and nomenclature with regards to these microbiome developments, but it's something...

[1] http://amzn.com/0143120859

I've subconsciously been putting this into practice probably, i.e., eating a 'clean diet', or foods that promote 'good' bacteria. I never talk about it, though, because it sounded very much like pseudoscience (until recently, I guess?). Just not enough samples or controlled groups for meaningful data to be interpreted. Strangely enough, I find this to be true for a lot of things in nutrition/diet.

Madonna is one of the biggest proponents of this diet who is famous: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-08/madonna-s-secret-fo...

The article mentions probiotics, and so does the LA Times article, but there are also 'natural'/whole foods Madonna consumes, which are recommended by her nutritionist, who she works closely with.

I never talk about it, though, because it sounded very much like pseudoscience (until recently, I guess?).

Changing the gut bacteria doesn't, but trying to do it through diet probably does.

Admittedly, I'm not too well read on it. So I have a lot of questions unanswered. I'm sure many feel this way: there are times when I wish I could read and understand so many things, but between work, learning to program and my family duties, I feel like I fall behind all the time in other areas.

Thanks for the feedback, by the way.

I don't think changing you diet is enough. This is all done through fecal microbiota transplantation commonly known as a fecal transplant. It is a fairly simple procedure involving an enema.

Other potential delivery methods include nasogastric (nose-to-stomach) tubes and even gelatin pills:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fda-comes-t...

Hell, even deep-kissing a healthy, thin person might help a little... though with a risk that worse-strains move in the other direction.

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So will tapeworms. Be careful what you wish for.

Tapeworms have a parasitic relationship whereas most gut flora usually has a symbiotic relationship with the host.

The line is kind of blurry, and it get's complicated, but there is no such thing as a sterile gut under normal condition. Hosts and "guests" have evolved together, so most gut bacteria won't become a problem most of the time. Exceptions abound, of course.

Tapeworms on the other hand have tons of side effects which the original donors of the gut bacteria don't seem to display...

Sure, but this is talking about existing symbiotic bacterial communities that already inhabit healthy lean people anyway. The idea is to just transplant these into obese subjects and let them establish that same relationship in their new host. The title is misleading because we don't actually know whether it's the addition or subtraction of certain bacteria that produces the effects of obesity, just that the colonies are different.

That's a very good point. It's awfully similar, though hopefully the lean-bacteria won't have as many bad side-effects :)

It's not similar at all. Your body already has several pounds worth of bacteria in it. Hopefully, your body has zero tapeworms.

This is talking about bacteria already in a healthy person's body.

tapeworm vs bacteria, parasite vs parasite, symbiotic or otherwise. and you have plenty of other parasites.

edit: maybe a simpler example. Try to describe why tapeworms are different from bacteria, without using "multicellular". both can cause harm. both eat your food. both can result in weight loss.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gut_flora

Bacteria that aid in weight control don't just "eat your food," they actually help your body break down food correctly. That's why you take a pro-biotic after going through a round of anti-biotics - you need to re-grow your gut flora to aid in proper digestion.

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