Diets, exercise programs, weight loss supplements…why aren’t any helping you manage your weight? The answer may lie in your gut, as the trillions of microorganisms known as the gut microbiome determine nutrient absorption and energy metabolism.

Poor food choices, irregular eating patterns, a sedentary lifestyle, and stress disrupt the process of extracting nutrients from your food. You’ve taken probiotics after taking a course of antibiotics to restore good bacteria in your gut to benefit your immune health and wonder what role the gut microbiome plays in maintaining a healthy weight.

How does gut health affect weight gain? 

The gut microbiome is an ecosystem of tiny bacteria, a living layer connecting our internal milieu to the outside world. The balance of the human gut microbiome is closely tied to digestive health, immune system function, and body composition, 

A disturbance in the gut's probiotic diversity is called gut dysbiosis. An increase in harmful bacteria stimulates chronic inflammation and one's tendency to obesity, diabetes, allergies, and autoimmune diseases [1]. The gut microbiota composition differs between lean and obese people. Studies show that a ratio of two major types of bacteria, called firmicutes and bacteroidetes, plays a role in whether or not we gain weight.

Gut microbes consume complex carbohydrates, but research published in Cell Host & Microbe shows that they also influence fat metabolism.[2] Firmicutes are involved in fat absorption and are more abundant in people who consume a diet rich in fat and sugar. It’s not hard to imagine which bacteria dominate the standard American diet. Therefore, restoring gut microbiome balance for a healthy weight takes time and requires making new food choices and changing lifestyle habits.

Healthy foods for a healthy weight 

Mediterranean Diet

Omega 3 fatty acids

Omega-three fatty acids from fish, algae, and olive oil have anti-inflammatory benefits. Omega-three fatty acids also play an essential role in preserving gut health, increasing the presence of bacteria called Akkermansia, which help prevent weight gain, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome.

When to eat and not to eat 

Avoid Snacking

Americans are snacking more than ever which disrupts the body's rhythm of digestion, nutrient absorption, and energy production. According to the Journal of Nutrition, timing our food intake matter for weight loss. People who eat more than three meals daily and choose dinner as the largest meal of the day have a higher BMI ( Body Mass Index). On the other hand, researchers found four factors that were associated with a decrease in Body Mass Index

Circadian fasting restricts eating to daytime hours from 7 am to 7 pm. It encourages people to make breakfast the largest meal of the day and eat a light dinner within a window of 12 hours. Eating less can improve gut microbiome balance and help you lose weight and live longer. [11]

Lifestyle tweaks

Sleep helps with weight loss.

Sleep is another crucial element to consider for a healthier weight.  Sleep deprivation affects hormone balance. When ghrelin, the hunger hormone, outpaces leptin in the body, it triggers food cravings. Sleep is a time when the body repairs itself. It allows melatonin and growth hormones to stimulate muscle and protein synthesis and break down fat.

Late-night eating reduces sleep quality and interferes with the body’s regular melatonin and growth hormone production. [12,13]

Research into the effect of skipping breakfast showed a disruption in the cortisol rhythm and elevated blood pressure. Breakfast is the most important meal, and a smoothie with protein, fats, prebiotic fiber, and polyphenols can be a great way to start the day (check out Baobab/berry power smoothie.) [14,15,16]

Movement matters

Nothing feels better than a walk in nature. It relieves stress and puts us in a better mood. It should not come as a surprise that movement in green spaces improves immune health and hormone balance. It can also add to the diversity of your microbiome [17] in the gut and skin. If you have not been active for a while, gradually work your way into a regimen that alternates between weight training and walking, biking, or swimming. Working with a trained professional can also help put you on the path to better fitness.

Meditation

Start a daily breath work and meditation practice to calm the mind. Meditation helps us to be in the moment and builds resilience. According to research published in BMJ 2014, breath work poses the added benefit of weight loss as we breathe out the fat we lose.  Mindfulness can also be incorporated into the way we eat. Eating without distractions, chewing more slowly, and enjoying our food increases satiety faster. [18]

In conclusion: 

The gut is the interface between our inner world and our environment. We can achieve better health and weight by eating a Mediterranean diet, increasing our prebiotic fiber intake, and limiting meals to the daytime.

Here are ten suggestions of where you can start:  

1. Eat breakfast as your largest meal for the day; consider the Baobab Berry Power Smoothie. 
2. Emphasize a Mediterranean diet, balanced protein, fats, and carbohydrates.
3. Increase prebiotic fiber and polyphenol intake; Baobab fruit includes both.
4. Start Circadian fasting 3-4 times a week. Eat two meals per day at 7 am & 7 pm.
5. Get regular sleep; this is the time when your body repairs and burns fat
6. Move your body. Walk 30 minutes daily, practice yoga, and work with a trained professional. Consult your doctor if you need guidance to increase your regimen's intensity.
7. Consider Fitbit, a great tool to monitor your sleep quality and exercise progress.
8. Spend as much time as possible in green spaces, parks, and forests. Nature has a replenishing effect on the mind, body, and spirit.
9. Meditation and breath work are calming, build resilience and support weight loss.
10. Mindful eating, eat slowly for faster satiety.

1. Barko PC, McMichael MA, Swanson KS, Williams DA. The Gastrointestinal Microbiome: A Review. J Vet Intern Med. 2018 Jan;32(1):9-25.

2. Ivana Semova, Juliana D. Carten, Jesse Stombaugh, Rob Knight, Steven A Farber, John F. Rawls Microbiota Regulate Intestinal Absorption and Metabolism of Fatty Acids Cell Host & Microbe Vol. 12 Issue 3p 277–288 September 13, 2012 

3..Koliada A, Syzenko G, Moseiko V, Budovska L, Puchkov K, Perederiy V, Gavalko Y, Dorofeyev A, Romanenko M, Tkach S, Sineok L, Lushchak O, Vaiserman A. Association between body mass index and Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio in an adult Ukrainian population. BMC Microbiol. 2017 May 22;17(1):120. 

4.Ley RE, Bäckhed F, Turnbaugh P, Lozupone CA, Knight RD, Gordon JI. Obesity alters gut microbial ecology. Proc Natl Acad Sci U A. 2005 Aug 2;102(31):11070-5. 5.Schnorr SL, Candela M, Rampelli S, Centanni M, Consolandi C, Basaglia G, Turroni S, Biagi E, Peano C, Severgnini M, Fiori J, Gotti R, De Bellis G, Luiselli D, Brigidi P, Mabulla A, Marlowe F, Henry AG, Crittenden AN. Gut microbiome of the Hadza hunter-gatherers. Nat Commun. 2014 Apr 15;5:3654.

6.Ghosh TS, Rampelli S, Jeffery IB, Santoro A, Neto M, Capri M, Giampieri E, Jennings A, Candela M, Turroni S, Zoetendal EG, Hermes GDA, Elodie C, Meunier N, Brugere CM, Pujos-Guillot E, Berendsen AM, De Groot LCPGM, Feskins EJM, Kaluza J, Pietruszka B, Bielak MJ, Comte B, Maijo-Ferre M, Nicoletti C, De Vos WM, Fairweather-Tait S, Cassidy A, Brigidi P, Franceschi C, O'Toole PW. Mediterranean diet intervention alters the gut microbiome in older people reducing frailty and improving health status: the NU-AGE 1-year dietary intervention across five European countries. Gut. 2020 Jul;69(7):1218-1228.

7. Aoun A, Darwish F, Hamod N. The Influence of the Gut Microbiome on Obesity in Adults and the Role of Probiotics, Prebiotics, and Synbiotics for Weight Loss. Prev Nutr Food Sci. 2020 Jun 30;25(2):113-123. doi: 10.3746/pnf.2020.25.2.113. PMID: 32676461; PMCID: PMC7333005.

Kahleova H, Lloren JI, Mashchak A, Hill M, Fraser GE. Meal Frequency and Timing Are Associated with Changes in Body Mass Index in Adventist Health Study 2. J Nutr. 2017 Sep;147(9):1722-1728. 

8. Pal A, Sun S, Armstrong M, Manke J, Reisdorph N, Adams VR, Kennedy A, Zu Y, Moustaid-Moussa N, Carroll I, Shaikh SR. The beneficial effects of eicosapentaenoic acid on the metabolic profile of obese female mice entail upregulation of HEPES and increased abundance of enteric Akkermansia muciniphila. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Cell Biol Lipids. 2022 Jan;1867(1):159059. 

11. Megumi Hatori, Christopher Vollmers Amir Zarrinpar, James A.J. Fitzpatrick, Mark Ellison, Satchidananda Panda, Time-Restricted Feeding without Reducing Caloric Intake Prevents Metabolic Diseases in Mice Fed a High-Fat Diet, Cell metabolism VOL 15, issues 6, P848-860, June 06, 2012.

12.Mavanji V, Teske JA, Billington CJ, Kotz CM. Partial sleep deprivation by environmental noise increases food intake and body weight in obesity-resistant rats. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2013 Jul;21(7):1396-405.

13. Pot GK. Sleep and dietary habits in the urban environment: the role of chrono-nutrition. Proc Nutr Soc. 2018 Aug;77(3):189-198.

14.Van Hul M, Cani PD. Targeting Carbohydrates and Polyphenols for a Healthy Microbiome and Healthy Weight. Curr Nutr Rep. 2019 Dec;8(4):307-316

15. Rebecca Garvey, Miriam Clegg, Shelly Coe The acute effects of baobab fruit (Adansonia digitata) on satiety in healthy adults Functional Food Centre, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UKFirst Published April 17, 2017, Brief Report  

16. Garvey R, Clegg M, Coe S. The acute effects of baobab fruit ( Adansonia digitata) on satiety in healthy adults. Nutr Health. 2017 Jun;23(2):83-86.

17.Mailing LJ, Allen JM, Buford TW, Fields CJ, Woods JA. Exercise and the Gut Microbiome: A Review of the Evidence, Potential Mechanisms, and Implications for Human Health. Exerc Sport Sci Rev. 2019 Apr;47(2):75-85

18. Ruben Meerman, researcher, Andrew J Brown, professor, Gastroenterological Tracts When somebody loses weight, where does the fat go?BMJ 2014; 349