Because studies tend to be more confusing than informative to the layman, the most sensible solution to maintaining a healthy balance of gut microbes, maintaining good health and avoiding weight gain seems to be losing excess weight now. Microbes are organisms so tiny that they cannot be seen with the naked eye. They live in the air, in soil, in water, in plants, animals and in the body. Also referred to as gut bacteria, these microscopic organisms are essential for overall good health and help the human body to digest and convert food to energy. Maintaining a perfect balance of gut bacteria is sometimes difficult.
Research, performed at Washington University School of Medicine and reported by Medical News Today, suggests that changing the mix of gut bacteria or microbes, by consuming a healthy diet, can prevent obesity. The study was performed using two mice as test subjects. One mouse was allowed to feast on a poor, unhealthy diet while the other mouse was fed a diet of lean and healthy foods. In this study, the poorly-fed mouse gained weight and fat, while also developing weight related metabolic issues, while his healthier-fed counterpart remained lean and healthy. The researchers concluded that humans that consume a diet high in healthy fruits, nutrient rich vegetables and lean proteins are less likely to gain unwanted excess weight which subsequently leads to weight related diseases. It is also suggested that the microbes contained in the healthy diet encourages microbes that are associated with leanness to be incorporated in the gut, while consuming a diet high in unhealthy saturated fats impede the invasion of good microbes that are associated with leanness. Simply put, those that consume healthy foods, including green leafy vegetables and lean proteins, are far more likely to maintain a slim waistline and avoid weight related diseases.