Some Guts Digest Food Faster Than Others Because of Microbes

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Highlights:

• Bacteria present in the gut are unique to an individual and may be the reason why some gain weight more than others even though they have the same diet
• In a new study, 40 percent of the participants belong to a group which extracts more energy from food compared to the other 60 percent
• Those who extracted more energy from food also weighted more

New research from the University of Copenhagen suggests that some individuals may have a different set of gut microorganisms as compared to other people which allows them to absorb more energy from meals.

As unfair as it might be, some of us seem to put on weight just by looking at a plate of Christmas cookies, while others can munch away without a care and not gain a gram. Part of the explanation could be related to the composition of gut microbes (1^✔).

‘Recent study suggests that some gut microbes extract more energy than others.’

Researchers studied the residual energy in the feces of 85 individuals to estimate how effective their gut microbes are at extracting energy from food. At the same time, they mapped the composition of gut microbes for each participant.

The results show that roughly 40 percent of the participants belong to a group that, on average, extracts more energy from food compared to the other 60 percent. The researchers also observed that those who extracted the most energy from food also weighed 10 percent more on average, amounting to an extra nine kilograms.

"We may have found a key to understanding why some people gain more weight than others, even when they don't eat more or any differently. But this needs to be investigated further," says Associate Professor Henrik Roager of the University of Copenhagen's Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports.

Gut Bacteria and the Risk of Obesity

The results indicate that being overweight might not just be related to how healthily one eats or the amount of exercise one gets. It may also have something to do with the composition of a person's gut microbes.

Participants were divided into three groups, based on the composition of their gut microbes. The so-called B-type composition (dominated by Bacteroides bacteria) is more effective at extracting nutrients from food and was observed in 40 percent of the participants.

Following the study, the researchers suspect that a portion of the population may be disadvantaged by having gut bacteria that are a bit too effective at extracting energy. This effectiveness may result in more calories being available for the human host from the same amount of food.

"The fact that our gut bacteria are great at extracting energy from food is basically a good thing, as the bacteria's metabolism of food provides extra energy in the form of, for example, short-chain fatty acids , which are molecules that our body can use as energy-supplying fuel. But if we consume more than we burn, the extra energy provided by the intestinal bacteria may increase the risk of obesity over time," says Henrik Roager.

Duration of Digestion Matters

From mouth to esophagus, stomach, duodenum and small intestine, large intestine and finally to rectum, the food we eat takes a 12-to-36-hour journey, passing several stations along the way, before the body has extracted all the food's nutrients.

The researchers also studied the length of digestion for each participant, all of whom had similar dietary patterns. The researchers hypothesized that those with long digestive travel times would be the ones who harvested the most nutrition from their food. But the study found the exact opposite.

"We thought that a long digestive travel time would allow more energy to be extracted. But here, we see that participants with the B-type gut bacteria that extract the most energy, also have the fastest passage through the gastrointestinal system, which has given us something to think about," says Henrik Roager.

Human Study Confirms Previous Animal Studies

The new study in humans confirms earlier studies in mice. In these studies, it was found that germ-free mice that received gut microbes from obese donors gained more weight compared to mice that received gut microbes from lean donors, despite being fed the same diet.

Even then, the researchers proposed that the differences in weight gain could be attributed to the fact that the gut bacteria from obese people were more efficient at extracting energy from food. This research has proved this theory.

"It is very interesting that the group of people who have less energy left in their stool also weigh more on average. However, this study doesn't provide proof that the two factors are directly related. We hope to explore this more in the future," says Henrik Roager.

Types of Gut Bacteria

Each individual has a unique composition of gut bacteria - shaped by genetics, environment, lifestyle and diet. The collection of gut bacteria, called the gut microbiota, has a staggering 100 billion of them per gram of stool. Gut bacteria in the colon serve to break down food parts that the body's digestive enzymes can't, e.g., dietary fiber. Humans can be divided into three groups based on the presence and abundance of three main groups of bacteria that most of us have: B-type (Bacteroides), R-type (Ruminococcaceae) and P-type (Prevotella).

Reference:

1. Stool energy density is positively correlated to intestinal transit time and related to microbial enterotypes - (https:microbiomejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40168-022-01418-5)

Source: Medindia

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