This likely means more study is needed before fibre supplements can be used as a treatment.
This likely means more study is needed before fibre supplements can be used as a treatment.
Trying to watch your waistline this holiday season? You may want to pay more attention to the diet of your gut bacteria, according to scientists who suggest that a fibre rich diet can influence weight gain, blood sugar and colon health.
It is not just calories that matter in a healthy diet – it is fibre that resists digestion by the body but is readily eaten by bacteria in the gut, researchers said.
Research with mice, published in the journal Cell Host and Microbe, help shed light on how and why fibre has such a powerful effect on the entire body.
“Once the mechanism is understood, it can be exploited in different ways to promote health,” said Andrew Gewirtz, from Georgia State University in the US.
“This will allow ways to modify diets to maximise those benefits,” Gewirtz said.
Fibre in its various forms is found in fruits, legumes, vegetables, and whole grains. So-called Western diets, which are high in fats and sugars but low in fibre, have been linked to an increased risk of inflammatory bowel diseases, weight gain, and diabetes.
“It is becoming increasingly clear that the average person’s fibre intake in a Western country has drastically reduced over the past few decades,” said Fredrik Backhed, from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.
Both studies started by feeding a group of mice a diet that was extremely low in fibre. The low-fibre diets rapidly led to weight gain, high blood sugar, and insulin resistance in the mice.
The study found that mice developed problems with the protective mucus layer in the colon after just 3-7 days of eating the low-fibre diet. This mucus layer became more penetrable and bacteria encroached upon the epithelial cells of the colon.
Source : http://www.deccanchronicle.com/amp/lifestyle/health-and-wellbeing/261217/fibre-rich-diet-helps-maintain-weight-gain-blood-sugar-colon-health-scientists.html