Remember this moment when you think that you cannot manage another piece of the meal and it seems like you are going to explode? Well, scientists think that this can be connected to microbes in your body.
Researchers recently found out that specific bacteria in the stomach tell the brain that they had enough to eat and that is when it is time to stop eating for you too.
The common bacteria E. coli produce proteins that scientists claim to be connected to a hormone responsible for appetite suppression response in the brain, 20 minutes after a person started eating.
The food the person consumes also benefits microbes in the body. A single human body hosts about 100 trillion bacteria, viruses and fungi that are in and on the body, starting from the eyelids and ending with intestines. Some of those are there to help the cells to process nutrients and fight off infections.
70 percent of all the microbes inhabit the digestive system alone. One of them is bacteria E. coli that can be found in each of us. Most will associate E. coli with bowel disorders and digestive distress, but this new study suggests that it plays a role in shaping our eating habits.
The microbes in your body absorb whatever you eat, your nutrients, which stimulates their reproduction. Researchers suspected that gut bacteria would benefit from signaling their host to help with regulating food intake. The scientists explored the signs of change in activity of E. coli relative to feeding.
A co-author of the study Sergueï O. Fetissov, of Rouen University in France investigated ClpB – bacterial protein, since it is easily traceable in the gut and blood. He and his colleagues developed a measuring way of bacterial protein so it can be possible to compare how much E. coli produced before and after the bacteria fed.
The E. coli bacteria produced twice as much of the ClpB protein about 20 minutes after feeding.
The next step was made to find if there is any effect on the release of more ClpB in E. coli’s protein on the body. Researchers found that food intake was reduced by this particular food blend of proteins during the injection of it into the mice and rats.
Fetissoc told that PYY signals satiety to the brain as one of the main hormones released after the meal. The dynamic of PYY release in the blood after the meal fit perfectly with the dynamic of the bacterial growth.
E. coli represent only 1 percent of the bacteria. Fetissow is looking forward for new discoveries that will emerge after he will make an analysis of other types of bacteria. He also thinks that bacteria are involved in the control of other molecular pathways. He is going to look into the mechanism of bacteria regulating appetite. He hopes that this research can help people with binge-eating disorders and obese ones too.
Good blog! While i was reading, I wanted to know more about the microbes about what they were, so I looked on the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to learn more. I thought it was interesting how some microbes can be good and some can be bad. Specifically I read, “Some microbes cause disease in humans, plants, and animals. Others are essential for a healthy life, and we could not exist without them. Indeed, the relationship between microbes and humans is delicate and complex.” Overall though, an informative read, I now know why I could feel so full!