We stumbled upon an interesting study from a team of researchers back in 2013 that tested two groups of mice eating fast food.
One group ate as much fast food as they wanted. The result? They gained weight.
The other was given probiotic yogurt, and also allowed to eat as much fast food as they wanted. The result? They stayed lean!
Here’s a portion of the abstract from the study:
We went on to test whether a bacteria found in yogurt may serve to lessen fat pathology by using purified Lactobacillus reuteri ATCC 6475 in drinking water. Surprisingly, we discovered that oral L. reuteri therapy alone was sufficient to change the pro-inflammatory immune cell profile and prevent abdominal fat pathology and age-associated weight gain in mice regardless of their baseline diet. These beneficial microbe effects were transferable into naïve recipient animals by purified CD4+ T cells alone. Specifically, bacterial effects depended upon active immune tolerance by induction of Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Treg) and interleukin (Il)-10, without significantly changing the gut microbial ecology or reducing ad libitum caloric intake. Our finding that microbial targeting restored CD4+ T cell balance and yielded significantly leaner animals regardless of their dietary ‘fast food’ indiscretions suggests population-based approaches for weight management and enhancing public health in industrialized societies.
It would seem to us that it’s important to maintain a healthy gut. Those little creatures in there go a long way to helping us.
