A new study suggests that ingesting healthy gut bacteria in pill form could be a breakthrough solution for tackling weight loss and combating metabolic syndrome, a condition linked to heart disease and diabetes.
Metabolic syndrome consists of five conditions:
- High blood pressure,
- High blood sugar,
- Excess abdominal fat,
- High triglycerides (blood fat), and
- Low levels of HDL (good) cholesterol
The study, published in ‘Nature Communications’, reveals that transferring healthy gut bacteria via a single capsule could offer significant health benefits.
Researchers from the University of Auckland involved 87 obese adolescents to test the effects of faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT).
In this process, ‘good’ bacteria from healthy donors are, however, transferred into the participants’ guts via a capsule.
While the adolescents didn’t lose weight, they also did not gain any.
More importantly, the study showed a reduction in metabolic syndrome risk among those who received the healthy bacteria capsule, compared to those who received a placebo.
Professor Wayne Cutfield from the University’s Liggins Institute highlighted that metabolic syndrome can double the risk of death from heart disease or stroke and increase the risk of type 2 diabetes by five times.
He further added that the benefits of the single FMT treatment lasted for at least four years, reducing the long-term risk of diabetes and heart disease.
Professor Justin O’Sullivan noted that the beneficial bacteria remained in the participants’ guts long after the treatment. This finding sets the stage for developing next-generation probiotics.
O’Sullivan stated, “Imagine being able to programme your microbiome to reduce the risk of conditions before they occur. This work is paving the way for next-generation probiotics that target specific conditions through sustained changes to the microbiome.”
“Our holy grail is to develop a super mix of bacteria that can prevent or moderate metabolic syndrome,” Cutfield noted.
Also Read: Hidden Bacteria Linked To Heart Attacks, Landmark Study Reveals
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