How Good Gut Health Benefits Body and Mind

A key project finding has been the presence of specific bacteria in the gut, which could help to determine whether a child is at risk of becoming obese. These bacteria will help researchers to identify microbiome-based biomarkers and associated lifestyles that represent an obesity risk.

The MYNEWGUT partners have also identified specific bacteria with differential effects on body weight regulation and glucose tolerance, which could lead to the next generation of probiotics or biotherapeutic products for improving conditions such as obesity and metabolic syndrome.

Researchers then investigated how these components interact with the gut microbiome in obese subjects with metabolic risk factors, and the consequent metabolic and physiological effects.

“High-protein diets exceeding recommended intake levels are frequently consumed by people wishing to lose weight,” says Sanz. “However, these diets increase the amount of undigested protein reaching the colon, which leads to the production of bacterial metabolites that can have potentially beneficial or deleterious impacts that have also been investigated in the MyNewGut project.”

Researchers found that microbiome-associated functions were influenced not only by the amount of protein but also by the kind of protein in the diet.

“These findings indicate that not only does the amount of dietary protein matter, but also the source,” says Sanz. “This should be considered in future dietary recommendations regarding the long-term health consequences partly mediated by the microbiome.”

Researchers have also identified how different habits influence microbiota and programme stress responses in later life with further consequences on metabolic and mental health.

“When our gut microbiota diversity is altered, this can influence our mental health, contributing to anxiety, stress and depression,” says Sanz. “In the immediate future, results from these studies will help us to draw up new dietary guidelines and promote probiotic development with a view to boosting both gut and brain health.”

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