Lose Weight With Diet Weight Loss and Reverse Type 2 Diabetes

A fiber-rich diet promotes the intestinal flora

An international research team shows in a recent study, how a Chinese diet has a positive effect on the intestinal flora and thus on the entire human health. The key messages of the study are:

• Intestinal bacteria, which are promoted by fiber, relieve type 2 diabetes.
• A high-fiber diet can lead to more efficient weight loss.
• Dietary fiber can rebalance an out-of-balance intestinal flora.
• The study provides a new analytical method to study the relationship between the intestinal flora and chronic metabolic diseases.

The six-year study was led by Rutgers University in New Jersey and supported by Jiao Tong University in Shanghai. The study team showed that fiber can rebalance the intestinal flora and thus achieve a variety of positive aspects. In addition to a better blood sugar control and fat reduction, the so-called HbA1c value could be lowered. This value indicates how high the average blood sugar value of the past few weeks has been and is an important control value especially for diabetics. The results of the study were recently published in the journal "Science".

A high-fiber diet can rebalance the intestinal flora, leading to more efficient weight loss and better blood glucose levels. (Image: pat_hastings / fotolia.com)

Fibers should be an important part of the diet

"Our study lays the foundation and opens up the possibility that fibers targeting certain gut bacteria should become an important part of the overall diet," said Liping Zhao, a professor at the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology at Rutgers University, New Brunswick in a press release on the study results.

Course of the study

Zhao, together with scientists from Jiao Tong University in Shanghai, examined patients with type 2 diabetes. The 27 subjects were divided into two groups. In one group, participants received a large amount of different types of fiber, along with a balanced diet. A 16-person control group received a standard diet following general dietary recommendations.

Microbes eat with you

"Leafy vegetables, whole grains, fruits with fibers: there's plenty of evidence that microbes digest foods that our bodies can not digest," Dr. Lynn Bry, director of the Massachusetts Host Microbiome Center at Harvard University, presented the study findings. When eating not only your own body is supplied, but also the microorganisms of the intestinal flora fed.

Lose weight through high-fiber diet

Twelve weeks after the start of the study, the participants from the group of high-fiber diets had a greater reduction in blood sugar than the control group. Fasting blood sugar levels also fell faster in the fiber group and they lost more weight.

Targeted structure of the intestinal flora

From the group of intestinal bacteria producing short-chain fatty acids, the researchers identified 15 out of 141 strains that are believed to play a key role in improving their health. The targeted promotion of these strains led according to the scientists to increased insulin production and better blood sugar control.

Appetite control by bacteria

"Many bacteria break down carbohydrates like fiber and produce short-chain fatty acids that nourish the intestinal cells," the researchers conclude. This would reduce inflammation and control appetite.

Diabetes soon curable?

Further studies are already being planned to determine if changes in the intestinal flora can be targeted for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. It may even be possible to achieve a cure for type 2 diabetes, the researchers say. (Vb)