Gut Microbes

You know that feeling when you just HAVE to have a piece of pie. Or you can’t think of anything except getting your hands on a Nanaimo bar.

How would you feel if I let you off the hook by telling you that the bacterial living in your gut are pulling you brain’s strings to get what THEY want?

A study published in the journal BioEssays says that certain bacteria have a taste for certain nutrients. And what those bacteria want they get! According to Dr. Carlo Maley, director of the UC San Francisco Center for Evolution and Cancer and of the study, “Bacteria within the gut are manipulative.” While some of what those bacteria want is good for us, other demands may be misaligned with your dietary goals.

Researchers believe that bacteria release chemical signals that affect our moods and appetites, influencing us to gobble more of what the bacteria crave. Dr. Maley says, “Our diets have a huge impact on microbial populations in the gut. “

One type of bacteria found only in the Japanese is specific to the digestion of seaweed. Since bacteria need on fats and sugars, when they get hungry so do we.

So are we at our guts beck and call? Turns out you can change the kinds of microbes living in your gut with the food choices you make.

Studies have shown that probiotics can decrease anxiety levels in mice. Researchers from UC Los Angeles showed that the brains of people ingesting a probiotic for four weeks had less activity in brain areas associated with excessive anxiety.

Scientists are on the onramp in studying the relationship between our gut microbes and the brain. But now when you eat that piece of chocolate, it wasn’t the devil that made you do it, it was your gut!