Gut Bacteria Linked to Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome Identified

[Glynis Steele]

ScienceDaily (Aug. 15, 2012) — Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have identified 26 species of bacteria in the human gut microbiota that appear to be linked to obesity and related metabolic complications. These include insulin resistance, high blood sugar levels, increased blood pressure and high cholesterol, known collectively as "the metabolic syndrome," which significantly increases an individual’s risk of developing diabetes, cardiovascular disease and stroke


The results of the study, which analyzed data from the Old Order Amish in Lancaster County, Pa., are being published online on Aug. 15, 2012, in PLOS ONE, which is published by the Public Library of Science (PLOS One). The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). (UH2/UH3 DK083982, U01 GM074518 and P30 DK072488)

"We identified 26 species of bacteria that were correlated with obesity and metabolic syndrome traits such as body mass index (BMI), triglycerides, cholesterol, glucose levels and C-reactive protein, a marker for inflammation," says the senior author, Claire M. Fraser, Ph.D., professor of medicine and microbiology and immunology and director of the Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. "We can’t infer cause and effect, but it’s an important step forward that we're starting to identify bacteria that are correlated with clinical parameters, which suggests that the gut microbiota could one day be targeted with medication, diet or lifestyle changes."
Dr. Fraser says that additional research, including an interventional study with the Amish, is essential. "We can look at whether these bacteria change over time in a given individual or in response to diet or medication," she says.

Dr. Fraser notes that the research team, led by Margaret L. Zupancic, Ph.D., then a postdoctoral fellow at IGS, also found an apparent link between the gut bacteria and inflammation, which is believed to be a factor in obesity and many other chronic diseases. "This is one of the first studies of obesity in humans to make a link between inflammatory processes and specific organisms that are present in the GI tract," Dr. Fraser says, noting that participants with metabolic syndrome who had elevated serum markers associated with inflammation tended to have the lowest levels of good bacteria that have been reported previously to have anti-inflammatory properties.

Full article here:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120815174902.htm

Full Study here:
Analysis of the Gut Microbiota in the Old Order Amish and Its Relation to the Metabolic Syndrome

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0043052

 

[peggy-sue]

Interesting - any mention of the involvement of fructose? Are the authors in any way connected with the sugar industry?
(corn syrup)
I'm quite willing to accept there could be an interaction going on, but high fructose corn syrup is highly involved with the current epidemic of obesity, metabolic syndrome and diabetes

 

[taniaaust1]

thanks greatly.. this post was very relevent to me.

i have metabolic syndrome with insulin resistance, high cholestrol and orthostatic hypertension (thou I think the last is due to stuffed up autonomic system thou). Also are on the higher end of the scale with inflammation markers at times. It all makes me wonder just how badly stuffed up my gut flora must be.

 

[HowToEscape?]

Interesting - any mention of the involvement of fructose? Are the authors in any way connected with the sugar industry?
(corn syrup)
I'm quite willing to accept there could be an interaction going on, but high fructose corn syrup is highly involved with the current epidemic of obesity, metabolic syndrome and diabetes

There are other ways to get fructose besides HFCS. For example, agave "nectar" is 90+% fructose. Plain sugar is 1/2 fructose.
There's evidence that excessive fructose consumption is a bad thing, especially when not bound up in the fruits it normally exists in, but it's quite a stretch to say that fructose is <the> villain behind a multitude of present ills.

Net, it's easy to get excess added sugar in one's diet. Most processed and many home prepped items have sugars by one or another name added. Official stats are that we consume 150lbs of sugars per year per person not including sugars which naturally occur in whole foods such as fruits or milk. There's no "healthy" sugar that one can dump a pound a week of into one's system, <<three>> pounds is just asking for trouble!

Corn is grown in states which happen to be early in the presidential primary process (Iowa especially) and thus corn has a handful of us senators. That's one reason corn is subsidized and thus artificially cheap, though it's gone up since the corn lobby has been so successful that they've artificially created demand via corn ethanol mandates. Cheap tends to win on grocery store shelves, and the cheapest things you can package are air, water and sugar. The first two don't taste all the great, the third does.

 

[Marg]

Interesting - any mention of the involvement of fructose? Are the authors in any way connected with the sugar industry?
(corn syrup)
I'm quite willing to accept there could be an interaction going on, but high fructose corn syrup is highly involved with the current epidemic of obesity, metabolic syndrome and diabetes

I agree with that it is in so many things. It is also GMO, I am sure..

 

[MishMash]

I would say it is caused by a processed diet and too many antibiotics.

But the Amish don't believe in anibiotics, so hmm.

 

[peggy-sue]

The US subsidised corn industry is behing a whole load of dietary garbage - not just high fructose syrup, but the corn is also used for feeding cattle - corn feeding cattle produces seriously unhealthy fats in the animals.
I'm well aware fructose exists at 50% in table sugar, etc.
The problem is big business and manufacturers using this cheap garbage in food products.
(I mostly avoid buying anything ready-made)