How Your Gut Health Affects Your Current Weight?

Prioritising our health has been quite a challenge nowadays. The unhealthy food choices and sedentary lifestyles of many millennials have contributed to the growing epidemic that is obesity. The latest Australian Health Survey of 2011-2013 highlighted obesity as an amassing problem in the country. 62.8% of Australians are classified as overweight or obese. The prevalence of this major health problem is still increasing. It continues to affect all genders and age groups in the country. Although lifestyle is a big factor, your gut health can also have an effect on how much you weigh!

Obesity and Gut Health

Regarded as the “mother of all diseases”, obesity is linked to a myriad of chronic health problems. Excess body weight is associated with elevated blood lipid levels, insulin resistance, and increased body fat. This can result in the development of heart disease, diabetes, and liver problems.

Certainly, prevention is better than cure. An active lifestyle and good nutrition can help avoid the onset of these lifestyle-related health problems. With the countless information on nutrition, many of us have a general idea of how to lose weight. Decreasing caloric intake seems to be the most sensible way to shed weight. But, recent studies have been suggesting that the bacteria found in your gut can also affect your current weight status.

The GI Tract

The human gastrointestinal tract contains a thousand types of bacteria that can be both beneficial and harmful to our health. The good bacteria found in the gut are responsible for harvesting energy from our food, regulating our immune system, and keeping the lining of the intestine healthy. Current researches on obesity suggest that their guts may contain bacteria that can cause an inflamed gastrointestinal tract. Another possible link is that the gut microbiotas of obese individuals are more efficient in harvesting energy, leading to weight gain.

Prebiotics and Probiotics for Your Gut Health

Your genes and lifestyle factors like diet, alcohol intake, exercise, and medications can determine the composition of your gut microbiota. Diet remains to be an essential factor that, when modified, greatly improves the gut flora. The inclusion of prebiotics and probiotics can ultimately alter your gut’s health by promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria and overall improve your weight.

Probiotics, found in fermented dairy foods like yogurt, kefir products, and aged cheeses, are live cultures that populate healthy intestinal bacteria and balance gut flora. Prebiotics, which are common in high-fibre foods like wheat and banana, is a type of indigestible fibre that promotes the growth of probiotics.

The combination of a balanced diet with an increased intake of probiotic and prebiotic rich foods works synergistically to improve one’s weight. Modifying your diet can significantly lessen your risk for obesity and its chronic related disease.

Learn More About The GI Diet

Looking to improve your gastrointestinal health? Take in charge of your nutrition today and download our GI Diet.