United States: Two increasingly popular weight loss techniques, intermittent fasting and protein pacing, are now shown by a new study to improve gut microbial composition.
More About the Findings
Previous research has indicated that gut bacteria can influence weight gain. These new studies offer deeper insights into how gut bacteria can be regulated to help maintain fitness.
Conducted with support from the nutrition supplement company Isagenix, the latest research sheds light on how gut microbial composition changes with eating patterns, fasting, and dietary protein timing.
According to Alex Mohr, a microbiome researcher at Arizona State University said, “To maintain a stable community and ecosystem, the gut microbiome must regulate its growth rate and diversity in response to nutrient availability and population density,” as sciencealert.com reported.
Study Details
The study involved 41 overweight or obese participants who either followed a healthy, calorie-restricted Mediterranean-style diet or a combination of intermittent fasting and protein-pacing (IF-P) diet for two months.
A protein-pacing diet requires controlled daily protein intake, while intermittent fasting restricts eating to certain times of the day on some days. The IF-P diet included 250-300 more calories on non-fasting days but also more protein compared to the calorie-restricted diet.
After eight weeks, stool samples showed a greater variety of gut microbiota in the IF-P diet group. Although results varied among participants, the IF-P group experienced fewer gastrointestinal issues and lost more visceral fat, which is crucial for metabolic health, including diabetes and heart issues.
Additionally, those on the IF-P diet exhibited biological changes linked to weight loss, such as an increase in Christensenellaceae bacteria and proteins associated with weight reduction.
The researchers wrote, “This novel work provides insight into the gut microbe and metabolomic profile of participants following an IF-P or calorie-restricted diet and highlights important differences in microbial assembly associated with weight loss and body composition responsiveness,” as sciencealert.com reported.
Need for Larger Trials
Given the small sample size, larger trials are necessary to validate these results. However, the findings suggest that this type of diet can remodel the gut microbiome and aid in weight control.
With obesity rates climbing towards a billion globally and its association with heart issues and certain cancers, these insights are particularly significant.