Our bodies are covered with  microscopic organisms so small; they can only be seen with a microscope.    These microbes include bacteria and viruses that play an important part in how our bodies metabolize and store fat.  Billions of tiny gut microbes are hidden in our bowels.  Working hard, these tiny microbes break down our food and play a vital role in our digestion. By changing the way in which the body stores fat, and balancing the glucose levels in our blood, microbes assist us in responding to the hormones that make us feel hungry or full. Ultimately this means microbes do not make us fatter; they actually have the power to help us lose weight

Obviously what we eat and how much we exercise are key factors in what we weigh. However it is important that we do not under estimate the role microbes’ play. Microbes are a direct contributing factor in our weight, rather than just the result of it. Heavier people have a less diverse range of microbes in their gut.

  Bacteroidetes for example, are a specific type of microbe that aids the colon in breaking down food. Their symbiotic host-bacterial relationship with the human body helps produce valuable nutrients and energy. The proportion of bacteroidetes present in an obese person, is significantly decreased than those present in a lean person. By encouraging virtuous microbes in the gut, we can control our weight and make us skinnier.

Akkermansia  is another form of microbe that is commonly credited with assisting in weight loss. Mirko Trajkovski, a professor at the University of Geneva in  Switzerland, works in the department of cell physiology and metabolism. He and his team carried out a study on overweight adults. Their research discovered those with higher levels of microbes had a stronger decrease in visceral fat, than those with lower Akkermansia  levels.

“We need to think about designing foods from the inside out,” suggests Jeffrey Gordon of Washington University in St. Louis. As a professor at Washington’s School of Medicine, his extensive research into gut bacteria also supports the theory that certain microbes can help fight fat. His study involved taking intestinal microbes from both fat and lean people, and transplanting them into rodents. He then observed the rodents as they changed, and determined that what they ate dictated whether the good microbes could move in and do their job, in making us skinner.

Dr. David Relman of Stanford University, also studies the microbes in our gut and how they influence our weight. He agreed with Professor Gordon’s research paper, which was also reported on in the Journal of Science. Gut microbes transplanted from the surgically altered mice into the microbe-free animals, did make them lose weight. Gordon’s research therefore suggested that microbes themselves, are responsible for at least some weight loss.

There are 500 species of microbes in our gut. Collectively these bacterial genes outnumber our own DNA more than 100 times. Intestinal health is a big job. A diverse and interdependent ecosystem, it is like a huge chemical factory inside us. Inflammatory fats damage our gut bacteria. By replacing these with healthier oils and fiber rich and fermented food, we can help reduce gut inflammation and help promote the growth of good bacteria. We can also feed the healthy microbes in our digestive system, by eating foods containing good amounts of probiotics. As these microbes become fruitful and multiply, they have an anti-inflammatory effect, encouraging weight loss. Altering the microbes in the gut, we are able to influences weight, furthering proving that microbes can in fact make us skinnier.