If you cannot dispose of the extra pounds while on a diet, the cause could be an imbalance of intestinal microbiota, the set of bacteria that live in the colon: this is what new and authoritative have shown studies. Here's what it turned out.
The microbiota - balance link
Experts have long known that the flora of the intestine plays a decisive role in regulating the assimilation of sugars and fats and the production of satiety hormones, but now the most up-to-date research has taken a further step forward: to distinguish obese people from normal weight is precisely the composition of their microbiota.
Doctors at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, in collaboration with the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, have made it clear that in an unbalanced flora from diets rich in refined foods, sugars, dairy products and processed and low-fiber meats prevail "accumulator" bacteria, which promote weight gain.
What to do to have a flora in which the colonies of bacteria useful for maintaining the line are predominant? «We must adopt a healthy and varied diet, based on simple and natural ingredients.
Also, to enhance the effects of diet, they can be assumed Probiotics, live bacterial strains capable of rebalancing the microbiota ”, explains Alessandra , PhD in neurobiology, expert in nutrition and naturopathy. You find them, for example, in some yogurt and fermented milk, or you can take them with ad hoc supplements.
Not all ferments work
Studies have made it clear, however, that only a few strains are effective for dispose of excess pounds. «Bifidobacterium breve and Lactobacillus plantarum, for example, have a slimming action.
On the contrary, there are "fattening" probiotics, such as Lactobacillus acidophilus or Lactobacillus fermentum, which are more useful in the case of lack of appetite or in energy recovery during a convalescence», Explains Dr. .
The winning combination
To colonize the intestines, probiotics need to be found in the colon a hospitable environment: the ideal substrate is that produced by prebiotic fibers present in some types of fruit and vegetables, such as chicory or bananas, which are the main nourishment of "good" bacteria.
"These indigestible polysaccharides, moreover, in the body increase the production of short-chain fatty acids, which favor the feeling of satiety», Concludes the expert.
The novelty supplement
On the market you can find supplements that combine, in a single product, probiotics and prebiotics. The novelty is represented by Tisanoreica Flor: in addition to fibers and nopal, or prickly pear, useful for modulating the absorption of nutrients e reduce hyperglycemia after meals, it contains Bifidobacterium breve BR03 and Lactobacillus plantarum LP09.
In addition, it is enriched with Bifidobacterium rhamnosus LR06, a bactericidal probiotic againstEscherichia coli, germ residing in the intestine which, if it reaches high concentrations, becomes pathogenic.
