Gut Bacteria and Body Weight

Gut bacteria has a huge impact on human body weight and our ability to gain or lose weight. How we’re effected varies depending on our microbiome balance, the levels of beneficial bacteria, genetics, hormone levels, vitamin and mineral levels, etc.

The homeostasis of these variables are different from person to person. The combinations are endless, but a few things are clear, bacteria in our gut can have a huge impact on our weight.

Before it gets lost in the details I would like to point out that the goal of The Gut Health Protocol is, as the name implies, a healthy gut.  Once you have a healthy gut a lot of other health markers are positively impacted (some, dramatically). Weight is just one of those markers. Everyone in today’s modern world needs to worry about their gut health, modern diets do not support a healthy microbiome without intervention (at a minimum, forcing our selves to eat foods that feed our microbiome). You do not need to run marathons or even workout daily to make this happen.  Research shows that re-balancing the gut can actually lead to wanted weight loss, even without a change in calorie intake!

What follows is a summary of current evidence linking the health of the microbiome to one’s ability to maintain a healthy weight, and/or lose weight. The evidence is clear that the microbiome, and the health of the gut (e.g. inflammation), can have a large impact on our weight (independent of calorie intake).

Gram-negative bacteria and lipopolysaccharides (LPS)

We all harbor some bacteria in our gut that, in short, is not good for us. We all know we have beneficial bacteria, and the type and levels of this can effect our health. But we also harbor bacteria that do not have our interests in mind. One category of such bacteria are those that produce an endotoxin called lipopolysaccharides(LPS) molecules (such as about half of the E.Coli strains).

LPS, also known as lipoglycans and endotoxins, are produced by certain gram-negative bacteria. LPS makes up a part of the outer shell, or membrane of these bacterial strains. It is comprised of large molecules of a lipid (fat) and a polysaccharide (a complex sugar), arranged in a manner unique to these types of bacteria.  In large quantities LPS produces hemorrhagic shock and severe diarrhea; smaller amounts cause fever, altered resistance to bacterial infection, inflammation, hair loss, muscle aches, head aches, etc.

Because LPS molecules are unique to unwanted bacteria our immune system elicits a strong immune response to them. This is one of the markers our immune system uses to detect bad bacteria. It is also one of the major causes of die-off (Herxheimer Reaction) symptoms, it is our body’s immune system in response to detecting LPS. When we kill this bacteria quickly we have will experience elevated symptoms. But keep in mind that for someone to have die-off from kill supplements (or antibiotics), they have to have lower levels of constant die-off (24/7) as well. Bacteria release low levels of LPS while living, and bacteria don’t live very long and die naturally. It is possible that day to day symptoms can go unnoticed as we do have the ability to detoxify low levels of LPS in real-time.

Lipopolysaccharides have been associated with with many different negative health consequences, everything from hair loss, to Parkinson’s Disease, to cancer! But this article is about body weight.

Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are associated with weight gain and the inability to lose weight. But that is no reason to avoid killing  the LPS bacteria, if you don’t get rid of this bacteria you will always have them causing problems 24/7. 

LPS is normally associated with weight gain and the inability to loss weight. However, it can cause the opposite effect as well. LPS will cause inflammation throughout the body and initiates a very strong immune response. This can also cause either diarrhea or constipation.  For some people this causes them not to eat as much, or interferes with nutrient absorption, leading to weight loss. But for most people LPS, and its associated inflammation, leads to weight gain.

Below are just a few of the studies on this topic.

 “One of the hallmarks of obesity and obesity-related pathologies is the occurrence of chronic low-grade inflammation [22]. Lipopolysaccharides (LPS), also called endotoxins, which are derived from the outer cell membrane of Gram-negative bacteria, have been thought to initiate the inflammation-related processes associated with the onset of obesity and insulin resistance” — https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4839080/

 “Infusion of LPS leads to weight gain and insulin resistance” —
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3978718/

 “Chronic low-dose LPS treatment increases body weight gain and energy intake.” — https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4523075/

 “High fat diet increases the absorption of LPS, which, in turn, has been found to be associated with metabolic endotoxemia and to induce inflammation resulting in obesity.” — https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4644874/

 “Diabetes and obesity are two metabolic diseases characterized by insulin resistance and a low-grade inflammation. Seeking an inflammatory factor causative of the onset of insulin resistance, obesity, and diabetes, we have identified bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as a triggering factor.” — https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17456850

Microbiome’s Effect  On Weight

In addition to the negative consequences of LPS producing bacteria, the overall of health of the microbiome (the overall mixture of microbes in the gut) can have a huge impact on weight.

In a study of fecal matter transplants they showed that by transferring fecal matter from a lean person to that of an obese person insulin sensitivity improved in the obese group.

“current evidence supports the potential role of the human gut microbiota in obesity. There are data that suggest that the bacterial composition of gut microbiota differs between obese and lean individuals” — https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5082693/

Here a microbiota transplant from obese mice to germ-free mice they found that weight gain followed. Transplants from lean mice did not show this effect.

in “a microbiota transplantation experiment, where they started with a panel of germ-free recipient mice, all of the same weight and age and with similar other features, and colonized the mice with microbiota samples taken from either an obese or a lean mouse donor… Then they observed the impact of the transplantation over time… Researchers observed about twice as much gain in body fat in mice receiving microbiota transplanted from either ob/ob or diet-induced obese donors, compared to mice receiving microbiota from lean donors” — https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK154098/

In this study they showed that good microbiome diversity, a high-fiber diet, and a specific pattern of gut bacteria (the “OTUs”) were shown to lower long term weight gain; “independently of calorie intake“, so fiber was not replacing calories. This means that the microbiome has a strong impact on weight. Other studies have shown that a strong healthy microbiome does not cause underweight individuals to lose weight.

“Less than half of the variation in long-term weight change was found to be heritable… Gut microbiota diversity was negatively associated with long-term weight gain, whereas it was positively correlated with fibre intake… High gut microbiome diversity, high-fibre intake and OTUs implicated in animal models of improved energy metabolism are all correlated with lower term weight gain in humans independently of calorie intake and other confounders.” — https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28286339

Antibiotics use and weight gain

This topic is very much related to the microbiome section above. Antibiotics change the microbiome and reduces diversity in the gut. These changes can cause weight gain and lead to obesity. It has been shown that antibiotic use in children can lead to a greater risk of adult obesity.  Antibiotics have been used to fatten animals for decades, with very ‘good’ results.  Yet, antibiotics can also be life saving, and should not be avoided if needed. Rebuilding the microbiome after antibiotics is key to avoiding long term negative consequences.

“Experiments in animal models have provided direct evidence that supports the findings from the early studies in farm animals that suggested a link between treatment with low doses of antibiotics with growth promotion. Studies in mice using multiple types of antibiotics have further confirmed this association… antibiotic treatments can lead to long-term alterations in microbiota composition, resulting in changes to host metabolic functions… we are now gaining clear insights to how these microbiota-modulating agents could contribute to obesity.” — https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4487629/

“The so-called antibiotic growth effect in animals has been well understood for the past 70 years. Antibiotics given to farm animals increase their weight… As early as 1955, Haight and Pierce reported that in a randomized controlled trial of Navy recruits, a 7 week course of antibiotics led to significantly greater weight gain in the treated group compared with placebo.” — https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5448405/

There is a lot of research being done in this area right now, and I expect to see several more studies on this topic over the next year or so. Of course I will cover them on this site and in the Facebook group.  It is obvious from above that poor microbiome diversity, an imbalance of bacteria, and LPS producing bacteria can all lead to weight gain in humans. Re-balancing the microbiome, selectively eliminating LPS producing bacteria, and increasing the level of beneficial bacteria can all lead to numerous health benefits, including healthier weight.

Here are a couple of things that may help you in your goal to re-balance your microbiome.

• The Gut Health Protocol (book on Amazon)
• Phage Complete – A unique probiotic that kills very specific unwanted bacteria throughout the gut to produce a prebiotic food for beneficial bacteria. The perfect way to begin re-balancing the microbiome.  (more information)

 

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