Saturday, May 31, 2008
Like Mitichlorians -- but real
I have had a wretched year: stress, cold-after-cold and weight gain. Along with the colds, I got rounds of antibiotics-- great for killing all of the critters that live within.
For a while I have been running through the theory that leptin has a role in weight loss. The problem with leptin is that the reception mechanism can be broken. It can be a disorder. It might not be a power outtage-- it might just be that the traffic lights are out of order.
We can never forget that we are host to hundreds of millions of bacteria: creatures that do anything from process lactose to keeping us healthy. We're in a state of symbiosis. Two of these residents may be directly related to obesity. There is some evidence that the ratio of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes is often out of whack in fat people. Having too many Firmicutes in ratio to Bacteroidetes may be connected with obesity.
Researchers say that genetically obese people lack genes for leptin reception, a hormone that monitors body fat and can limit food intake. Obese mice had more Firmicutes bacteria in their gut than their leaner relatives. A detailed analysis showed that obese mice gut microbes were better at harvesting calories from food - suggesting that the bacteria made the mice fatter. They gleaned calories. While lean people pass on excess calories, Firmicutes get those calories and do not pass on notice to leptin receptors. You get the calories and you don't even know it.
I'm working from the theory that I am not part of the genetically obese crowd, but I might be part of the leptin-addled group. Add in the spate of flora killing events and I may not have a way to convey my intake to my brain. This would explain why I am perpetually hungry.
I have resumed taking 5-HTP. It may be that I need to make sure the receptors get some help at the reception point. I have also started a regiment of Bio-K+, a culture of L. acidophilus and L. casei. If it can make my body inviting to Bacteriodetes, I may be able to set-up good leptin reception.
After five days of Bio-K, my intestines have gone from their usual spastic state to something a little more sedate. I am also getting nauseous when I overeat. What I should eat doesn't trigger the nausea. Eventually my mindset will shift with the negative re-enforcement to eat within those boundaries. In the meantime, my perpetual hunger appears to have gone away.
For a while I have been running through the theory that leptin has a role in weight loss. The problem with leptin is that the reception mechanism can be broken. It can be a disorder. It might not be a power outtage-- it might just be that the traffic lights are out of order.
We can never forget that we are host to hundreds of millions of bacteria: creatures that do anything from process lactose to keeping us healthy. We're in a state of symbiosis. Two of these residents may be directly related to obesity. There is some evidence that the ratio of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes is often out of whack in fat people. Having too many Firmicutes in ratio to Bacteroidetes may be connected with obesity.
Researchers say that genetically obese people lack genes for leptin reception, a hormone that monitors body fat and can limit food intake. Obese mice had more Firmicutes bacteria in their gut than their leaner relatives. A detailed analysis showed that obese mice gut microbes were better at harvesting calories from food - suggesting that the bacteria made the mice fatter. They gleaned calories. While lean people pass on excess calories, Firmicutes get those calories and do not pass on notice to leptin receptors. You get the calories and you don't even know it.
I'm working from the theory that I am not part of the genetically obese crowd, but I might be part of the leptin-addled group. Add in the spate of flora killing events and I may not have a way to convey my intake to my brain. This would explain why I am perpetually hungry.
I have resumed taking 5-HTP. It may be that I need to make sure the receptors get some help at the reception point. I have also started a regiment of Bio-K+, a culture of L. acidophilus and L. casei. If it can make my body inviting to Bacteriodetes, I may be able to set-up good leptin reception.
After five days of Bio-K, my intestines have gone from their usual spastic state to something a little more sedate. I am also getting nauseous when I overeat. What I should eat doesn't trigger the nausea. Eventually my mindset will shift with the negative re-enforcement to eat within those boundaries. In the meantime, my perpetual hunger appears to have gone away.
Labels: bacteriodetes, firmicutes, leptin
