The weight loss industry is a multi-billion-dollar industry in the United States. Unfortunately, it seems that as we age its harder to lose and keep weight off. There are dozens of approaches out there, all promising quick weight loss, but research shows most people after losing weight, slowly put the pounds back on.
Whether you are doing Low-carb, Keto, weight watchers, Atkins, or intermittent fasting; they all can achieve weight loss, but it’s the long-term loss that counts. Is it will power that leads to success or could something else more sinister be affecting the ability to keep the weight off?
Bacteria in your gut number in the trillions, and this number needs to stay consistent for proper health. Most bacteria in your gut are either beneficial or inert-which means they don’t affect your health one way or the other. There is also a small percentage of bacteria in the large intestine that are pathogenic, which means they create nasty symptoms by how their waste interacts with the human body.
Here is a novel concept, what if the waste that bad bacteria produce is more inflammatory to the intestines and inhibits weight loss, along with contributing to a host of other issues such as: Anxiety/depression, IBS, heartburn, skin issues, and Diabetes. To put it more simply, the amount of good/bad bacteria balance is critical, as the chemicals released from digestion of sugars by these bacteria produce substances that cause symptoms and can inhibit weight loss.
If you have a small number of good bacteria in your gut to compete for food with the bad bacteria, then imbalance occurs. In the last decade researchers have been looking into how the composition of gut bacteria plays a role in managing various diseases and the inability to lose weight and keep it off.
Our office employs testing to evaluate the health of all the bacteria in the gut by number and type. Many times, with chronic health issues, these tests reveal imbalances in bacteria that needs addressed. Through dietary changes and giving the right type of probiotics to the patient their efforts at weight loss are more successful. Since every person has different amounts and types of bacteria in their gut, we can personalize their dietary choices to work with the bacteria they have.
If you would like more information on how to balance out your gut bacteria call our office and schedule a Nutritional consult with Dr. Mason— 317-577-9558