Feces and Fat: Possible Link Between Fecal Bacteria and Obesity

Feces and Fat: Possible Link Between Fecal Bacteria and Obesity

By Kurtis Bright

How Bacteria In Feces Has Been Linked to Inherited Obesity

You’re a big, fat stinkin’ mess. So says a group of British researchers, anyway.

Okay, that’s not exactly true. But what they are saying is that the content of our feces may well play a role in how much fat we store in our bodies--and possibly even tell us who has an inherited propensity for obesity.

An exciting new study out of the U.K. seems to demonstrate that the makeup of the bacteria found in the feces of individual people may be linked to the levels of dangerous types of fat we have in our bodies. Researchers think could lead to breakthroughs on how and why obesity is passed along in families as well.

Carried out by researchers at King’s College in London, the study analyzed stool samples from more than 3,600 sets of twins. What they found was that there is ample evidence that at least some of the composition of this bacteria is heritable, thus offering the beginnings of an explanation for why obesity is an inherited trait.

They compared data culled from the samples provided by the study participants to six different measures of obesity, including body mass index and the composition of a person’s body fat, they distinct types we carry. Thus the researchers were able to find a correlation with visceral fat, an especially dangerous fat type that is stored in the abdomen, giving people not only the “spare tire” look, but also pressing in on surrounding organs like the liver, pancreas and intestines. Having excess visceral fat has also been connected to higher risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Although the study showed a clear link between this particular type of fecal bacteria and fat, lead author Dr. Michelle Beaumont of The Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology at King's College London was quick to point out that it is not yet possible to explain why there might be such a connection.

“As this was an observational study we cannot say precisely how communities of bacteria in the gut might influence the storage of fat in the body, or whether a different mechanism is involved in weight gain,” she said.

Researchers theorize that perhaps a lack of variety in fecal bacteria could lead to higher levels of the types of gut microbes that specialize in turning carbohydrates into fat.

There is certainly a growing body of evidence that gut bacteria has a much greater influence over many biofunctions: not only obesity, but also our mental health and brain function too.

For some time we’ve known that the composition of at least half of human feces is bacteria that is shed from the gut. Indeed, Dr. Beaumont suggested that eating a wider variety of different types of foods--as our hunter-gatherer ancestors did, long before monocrops and industrial food production had limited our choices the way they are today--could lead to more diversity of microbes in our gut biome.

The research--published in the journal Genome Biology--should if nothing else create new avenues for future research that will help us better understand how gut bacteria, and thus obesity may be passed down in families.

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Here’s Why You’re Fat and Sick: Fattening Western Diet Is Also Killing Your Immune Response

Here’s Why You’re Fat and Sick: Fattening Western Diet Is Also Killing Your Immune Response

By Kurtis Bright

How Your Immune System Is Affected by a Western Diet

There is a video making the rounds that shows what happens to a Big Mac when sulfuric acid is poured over it. It is disturbing, not for what happens to the burger but rather what doesn’t.

Not a lot, is the short answer. The bun starts to turn black, and you keep waiting for the thing to dissolve in a puff of smoke, or melt into a puddle of goo like one of Walter White's unfortunate occupants of the infamous blue barrels. But the effects pretty much stop there.

So a 30-minute bath in acid, rather than melting the bread, meat, and sauce just turns the bun hard and leaves the rest of it pretty much the way it looked when it came out of the box.

So...next question: what happens in your stomach when you eat one?

Fast food, as most of us know, is so heavily laden with chemicals and preservatives that even calling it “food” has at times proven something of a stretch. (Recall for instance when Taco Bell was sued because their taco “meat” turned out to be only about 35 percent actual meat.)

Of course it is also proven fact that the western, fast-food heavy diet causes more and more people to become obese and has contributed to a concurrent rise in Type 2 diabetes.

However an Australian study shows that fast food is changing us in many different ways, ways that are more subtle, and indeed more disturbing. The New South Wales study focused on T cells, or T lymphocytes, which power our immune system. And what they found was that these vital cells are strongly affected by fatty, preservative-heavy fast food.

A high-fat diet was fed to mice for nine weeks to determine what other effects might occur aside from weight gain. What they found was not what they anticipated.

“Despite our hypothesis that the T cell response and capacity to eliminate invading pathogens would be weakened we actually saw the opposite: the percentage of overactive T cells increased,” said study lead Abigail Pollock.

And while at first blush that might sound like a desirable effect, perhaps resulting in an ultra-healthy immune system, the truth is that over-stimulated T-cells are not a good thing. In such a state they attack healthy parts of the body, which results in problems like autoimmune diseases, including type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease.

The researchers think that the extra fat in the diet has the effect of changing the rodents on a cellular level. This is because cell membranes are constructed of layers of fatty lipid molecules. In the affected mice, the extra fat actually changed the make-up of the cells themselves.

As pointed out by Pollock, this “ ... changes the structure of the cell, altering the responsiveness of the T cells and changing the immune response.”

So remember, when considering a quick trip to the drive-through on the way home from work for some cheap, easy fast food, remember that the price you pay could be much higher than added inches on your waistline.

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FDA To Redefine ‘Healthy’--Using Outdated Models

FDA To Redefine ‘Healthy’--Using Outdated Models

By Kurtis Bright

Agency Set To Make Controversial Move Using Outdated Data That Still Mistakenly Vilifies Fat and Cholesterol

Words have power, even in this idiot age of lies, half-truths, and obfuscations.

It could even be said that words are more important in such an age, as we are forced to sift the statements coming out of government and companies’ PR shops like shamen examining the entrails of chickens searching for hidden nuggets of truth encased within the mounds of BS.

Which makes it such a disappointment to hear about the Food and Drug Administration’s new effort at redefining the federal guidelines for the term “healthy.”

The agency is no stranger to controversy; the FDA’s often mysteriously arrived-at definitions came up last May when they updated the Nutrition Facts label. Again prior to that when the agency approved the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

FDA officials claim that they are working on a new definition of “healthy” because they are seeking to make the term compatible with “...the latest nutrition science.”

One assumes they mean their own nutrition science, which, for many dieticians and other health-oriented people is not a good start. For instance, the guidelines published in May were called hopelessly retrograde by many, in that they continued to criticize the intake of cholesterol despite the fact that numerous studies have debunked hoary fears linking cholesterol intake with heart disease.

The 2015 update suggested that, although the 300 mg per day suggested limit of cholesterol was lifted--the equivalent of about two eggs--people should still be careful with cholesterol.

Many observers see this as a rather chickenshit move, simply a continuation of a long-debunked and outdated belief that cholesterol causes heart disease. Mountains of research shows that LDL cholesterol is in fact vital to a healthy, functioning body, and we have known for some time that the 1950s-era link between cholesterol and heart disease was spurious.

And while there is no smoking gun, many observers think that the billion dollar a year statin drug industry’s influence may have had some sway in the decision--after all if Americans stop believing that cholesterol causes heart disease, why would keep taking expensive--and dangerous--statins?

Another area of controversy was that of fat, which has also been linked--again, many think erroneously--to heart disease. Last May’s updated recommendations famously claimed that something with reduced fat yet which still contained tons of added sugar was more healthy than its opposite number: the ludicrous extension of the FDA’s logic was that Pop-Tarts would be considered more healthy than an avocado.

So a grain of salt is recommended when trying to digest any new FDA recommendations, as they are likely tainted with corporate and lobbyist money and influence. At best they are behind the times, at worst they are inept and corrupt and should not be trusted without outside verification.

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It's The Sugar, Stupid: Some High Fat Foods That Are Actually Good For You

It's The Sugar, Stupid: Some High-Fat Foods That Are Actually Good For You

By Kurtis Bright

A Poorly Researched and Biased Study From Fifty Years Ago Continues to Sway the Debate Over Fat Versus Sugar

Almost 50 years ago, the sugar industry managed to forever tar fat with the overbroad brush of “bad for you” in a remarkable coup, powered by one industry-funded study. The authors, relying on dubious data from which they drew doubtful conclusions, were able to pin all manner of health threats on one of the main components of a healthy diet--while conveniently giving sugar a pass.

But as is becoming more apparent every day, we have much more to worry about with sugars, despite the effects of the lies of a corrupt industry paying off corrupt scientists continuing to linger today. 

But it's time we welcome back healthy fats from their long exile. To that end, here are a few foods that are high in fat but which are also very good for you. 

• Avocados - Although these ugly green guys contain an absurd amount of fat, they are still quite good for you. This apparent contradiction was too much for the geniuses behind recent changes in the U.S. FDA dietary guidelines to grasp: following the guidelines would put a Pop Tart in a healthier category than an avocado due mainly to the fat content of the fruit. Never mind the sugar in Pop Tarts. At any rate, avocados are nearly 77 percent fat by calories, higher in fat even than most animal-based foods. But it is largely a monounsaturated fat called oleic acid, the same fatty acid found in olive oil, which comes with great health effects. They also contain a high level of potassium, and one study showed that despite the fat content, people who ate avocados tend to weigh less and have less belly fat than those who eschew them.
• Cheese - Similarly, cheese is indeed high in fat, but largely the kind of fatty acids associated with reducing your risk of contracting type 2 diabetes. It also a great source of protein which comes with a relatively low caloric trade-off. Plus it is a great source of vitamin B12, calcium, phosphorus and other nutrients. Just because it contains fat don't shy away from cheese.
• Dark chocolate - This underappreciated dessert has nearly 65 percent of its calories coming from fat, but that's not all. It also contains 11 percent fiber, and over 50 percent of the U.S. RDA for iron, magnesium, copper and manganese. Dark chocolate also contains tons of antioxidants, even more than blueberries, and studies have shown that people who regularly eat dark chocolate can end up with a lower blood pressure and healthier LDL cholesterol count.
• Eggs - It’s high time we put aside another myth dating from the 1950s and 1960s, back when eggs were considered a bad guy, a beshelled demon eager to clog your arteries and send your cholesterol skyrocketing. More recent studies show that the cholesterol in eggs generally doesn’t have an effect on the cholesterol in the blood, at least not in most people. And despite being high in fat, eggs nonetheless have demonstrated that they are potent weight loss allies. They contain tons of protein at a relatively low calorie count, allowing you to use them to replace high glycemic refined grains and consume fewer calories while still feeling full.

Overall, it’s high time the U.S. FDA step up and make it crystal clear that sugars are much bigger culprits in the poor health of so many Americans that fat ever could be. Educate yourself on good fats versus bad fats, and eat a generous amount of the former while limiting yourself to a sensible amount of the latter.

And for God’s sake, cut down on refined sugars!

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