Can the Microbiome Affect Metabolism?

🤔Ever thought of this?

Here’s how your gut microbiome affects metabolism (and why to fix it!):

1️⃣ Glucose Metabolism

An altered gut microbiome can increase the amount of insulin released in response to blood glucose, a pattern associated with insulin resistance.

2️⃣ Ghrelin Production

An altered gut microbiome can increase the secretion of ghrelin, a hormone that signals the brain it is hungry.

3️⃣ Calorie Uptake

The composition of microbiota associated with obesity increases the absorption of calories from ingested foods.

What does this mean?

It means that there is more to metabolic health and weight loss than just counting calories and exercising 🤯

We get better results because we look at correcting the metabolism from a whole-person perspective, including gut health and the microbiome.

Curious to learn more?

🔗 Follow the link in our bio to get started!

Reference

Asadi A, Shadab Mehr N, Mohamadi MH, et al. Obesity and gut-microbiota-brain axis: A narrative review. J Clin Lab Anal. 2022;36(5):e24420. [link]

New Study: Intermittent Fasting vs. Caloric Restriction

Intermittent Fasting vs. Calorie Restriction:

🤷‍♀️ Which works better?

A new study compared them in a group of 75 people with type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Here are the highlights:

▪️ Participants were randomly assigned to intermittent fasting (freely eating between noon and 8pm daily) or caloric restriction (25% calorie reduction).

▪️ After 6 months, those doing intermittent fasting had lost twice as much weight on average (-3.56% vs. -1.78%).

▪️ Both groups experienced similar improvements in average blood sugar levels (measured by HbA1C).

Caloric restriction is the norm in diet culture, but it’s hard to follow (this study also showed better adherence to intermittent fasting than calorie restriction), and a LOT more goes into healthy eating and weight loss than just calorie counting.

Intermittent fasting is not for everyone.

This is something I discuss on an individual basis with clients to come up with the best plan for each person.

Give us a like if you learned something new or share to a friend that may find this interesting! ❤️

Reference

Pavlou V, Cienfuegos S, Lin S, et al. Effect of Time-Restricted Eating on Weight Loss in Adults With Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(10):e2339337. [link]

Intermittent Fasting vs. Calorie Restriction

⏰ Intermittent Fasting vs. Calorie Restriction 🥗

Which works better for blood sugar control?

Lots of studies have shown intermittent fasting to be effective for weight loss, but only a few have looked at what happens to blood sugar.

🌟 Most people who want to lose weight are also teetering on the verge of prediabetes or diabetes, so it’s important that we know how blood sugar will respond 🌟

Here’s a new study that compared intermittent fasting to calorie restriction in adults who were at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

👉👉 Results after 6 months showed that intermittent fasting was more effective at improving glucose tolerance after meals than calorie restriction.

The intermittent fasting protocol went like this:

▪️ 3 days per week of “fasting”

▪️ “Fasting” days allowed for 800-1200 calories to be consumed between 8am and noon

▪️ 4 days per week of unrestricted eating

This was compared to caloric restriction on 7 days per week.

Intermittent fasting is one tool in our toolkit to support our clients in balancing their blood sugar, hormones, and overall health.

Reference

Teong XT, Liu K, Vincent AD, et al. Intermittent fasting plus early time-restricted eating versus calorie restriction and standard care in adults at risk of type 2 diabetes: a randomized controlled trial. Nat Med. 2023;29(4):963-972. [link]

The Obesity Paradox Solved

🤔 What’s the obesity paradox?

The obesity paradox refers to the confusing finding in some studies that people who are overweight or obese are at no higher risk of death.

It’s shown on a graph as a U-shaped curve, where only individuals who are extremely underweight or extremely obese are at a higher risk of death.

🔸 It’s a paradox because it just doesn’t make sense 🔸

Obesity is linked with heart disease, diabetes, and cancer—all of which increase the risk of death.

‼️ But now researchers out of the University of Colorado in Boulder are challenging this paradox.

They analyzed data from more than 18,000 people and found some fascinating things:

🔹 BMI measurements taken in one moment of time are what have given the U-shaped curve.

🔹 What matters more is HOW MANY YEARS has a person been overweight or obese?

🔹 When looking at the duration of obesity, being overweight or obese for many years DOES correlate to a higher risk of death.

They also found that where fat was distributed in different people with the same BMI made a huge difference in health outcomes.

Is this making sense? Here’s the bottom line:

✅ More years of being overweight or obese means worse health.

✅ Body composition and abdominal fat are more important than BMI alone.

What do you think? Have they succeeded in challenging the paradox?

Reference

Masters RK. Sources and severity of bias in estimates of the BMI-mortality association. Popul Stud (Camb). 2023;77(1):35-53. [link]

Peanuts for Weightloss?

Well this sounds like a simple trick to try! 

🥜 New research (published in Nutrients 2022) has just shown that eating a handful of peanuts before 2 main meals a day can help with weight loss. 

The study involved adult participants who were at risk of type 2 diabetes. They were randomized to follow either a low-fat diet or the same diet plus salted dry-roasted peanuts for 6 months. 

Here’s what happened:

📋 Both groups lost a similar amount of weight over 6 months (about 6.6 kg or 14.5 lb)

📋 Both groups experienced similar improvements in markers of glycemic control (glucose, insulin, and HbA1C) 

📋 Those in the peanut group experienced a greater reduction in systolic blood pressure (-9.5 mmHg)

The study concludes that peanuts can be included in a low-fat diet without compromising weight loss 🥜 

It’s oversimplified. 

But that’s usually unavoidable with studies. Other studies have demonstrated similar benefits of eating walnuts, mixed nuts, or other nuts. 

We recommend including sources of healthy fats no matter what your health goals—whether its weight loss, blood sugar balance, healthy blood pressure, or anything else. 

Some of our favorite healthy fats?

🌰 Nuts (walnuts, almonds, pecans, etc.) 

🥣 Seeds (chia, flax, hemp, etc.)

🥑 Avocados

🫒 Olive Oil

🥥 Coconut Oil

🧈 Grassfed Butter

🥚 Whole Eggs

When it comes to weight loss, we take into consideration the current research plus what we see to be tried and true methods that work with our patients. 

We use testing to understand their metabolism, hormones, and goals and then craft an individualized plan to set them up for success. 

Reference

Petersen KS, Murphy J, Whitbread J, Clifton PM, Keogh JB. The Effect of a Peanut-Enriched Weight Loss Diet Compared to a Low-Fat Weight Loss Diet on Body Weight, Blood Pressure, and Glycemic Control: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Nutrients. 2022; 14: 2986. [link]