Thanks to a diet that inhibits the growth of bacteria in the gut, the Chinese patient lost 51 kilograms without exercising, reports New Scientist.
Liping Zhao’s team at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China applied a diet containing whole grains, probiotics and non-digestible carbohydrates to a morbidly obese patient. Traditional Chinese medicine methods were also used. All of this was aimed at increasing the pH in the large intestine – to inhibit the activity of bacteria that are believed to be an important cause of weight gain.
After 23 weeks, the 175-kg patient lost 51 kg – even though he was not exercising. Often used in the treatment of obesity, slimming operations allow you to lose an average of 49 kilograms
Before starting the therapy and after its completion, the scientists checked which bacteria are most abundant in the patient’s intestine. As it turned out, before the diet was used, the most numerous were toxin-producing Enterobacter – they accounted for as much as 35 percent of intestinal bacteria. The diet reduced the levels of these bacteria to undetectable levels.
To see if the presence of Enterobacter is the cause or the effect of obesity, the researchers gave samples to mice. Infected mice gained weight on the high-fat diet much more than the control group.
Earlier work has shown a link between gut bacteria and obesity, but Zhao describes his research as the last missing piece of evidence that microbes can cause obesity. In his opinion, this type of diet-based treatment may be cheaper and more effective than surgery. (PAP)
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