your body plan
{ feed your gut }
Photographs Stocksy, iStock by Getty Images, James Winspear
Unless you’ve been off-grid for the best part of a decade, you’ll know that your gut bacteria are key to staying well – but did you know they also influence weight? ‘We know they play a crucial role’, says Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College. ‘In human obesity, you can make people fat or thin by changing gut microbes.’
Improving the diversity of your gut bacteria isn’t just about avoiding IBS or keeping you regular. Healthy microbes retrieve the nutrients from food, so you get more bang for your buck. Diverse, plentiful good gut bacteria can also regulate your appetite, because they impact hunger hormones like leptin and ghrelin, making you less likely to give in to cravings. ‘This has been shown in many animals’, says Spector. ‘Their choice of eating carbs or protein can be modified by the microbes.’