A high fibre, low-carb diet delivers weight-loss and gut health

The gut is a fascinating area of health for me, especially the way  it impacts weight. Most of the clients I have worked with over the years arrive to me with gut issues, particularly bloating and constipation. They come for weight-loss but I also like to help them change their gut health along with weight-loss.

This programme is a must watch for people interested in the science behind nutrition. It summarises the scientific research about  food, disease and health. Our gut bacteria emerge as key players in our health and weight. This was filmed in 2014 but I have not seen anything as good since.

The videos are in 2 parts, both 30 minutes each so you need to take time out to watch them – otherwise I summarised the details below.

Part 1 Catalyst – Gut Reaction

Reported by Dr Graham Philips, PhD in astrophysics

Part 2 Catalyst – Gut Reaction

Reported by Dr Graham Phillips

Who made “Catalyst – A Gut Reaction”

Catalyst is an Australian TV network. And Australia seems to be leading the world in terms of food and health science at the moment. Monash University, Charles Perkin Centre at the University of Sydney, and Molecular Bioscience at the University of Queensland are all doing amazing research. As is Biofrontiers Institute at the University of Colorado and The American Gut project .

Summary of the current research findings from Catalyst – A Gut Reaction

1. A bad diet (low fibre, i.e. sugars and processed food) changes the population of bacteria in your gut. We have both good and bad bacteria living inside us but the good outnumber the bad in a healthy gut.

2.  All gut bacteria ‘talk-to’ your immune cells and a bad gut bacteria population can set off an inflammatory cascade – seen in Type 2 Diabetes, Asthma, MS, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Polymyalgia,  Psoriasis, Colitis, Cancers, Heart disease.

3. Bad gut bacteria have been linked with obesity whereby a positive change in diet can positively change the ecology of the gut. By addressing your gut health, this is a good starting point to losing weight.

4. Antibiotics are like ‘dropping a nuclear bomb on your immune system’  according to one scientist, – especially in year 0 – 3 of a child’s life as it appears to affect their metabolic and immune systems later in life. However, it is important to note that antibiotics can be life-saving but the message is to use them only when it is essential.

5. Our gut bacteria affect our mental health – the scientist said if he had heard this a few years back he would thought the person was mad……this is a huge jump in scientific thinking – probiotics are under research for autism

6. You can be very fit but if you eat an unhealthy diet, you may be using more insulin than is healthy to control the fats and sugars you eat. This is BIG news for Diabetes – High insulin levels are not healthy.  They used a 24 year old fit gymnast in an experiment. See this – Part 1 @ slide 19 and again @ slide 26. The fit younger man needed 2 to 3 times as much insulin to store his food than the reporter who was older but had a better  diet.  After 1 month of healthy eating, the young man halved the amount of insulin he needed to clear the same fast food meal. Just 2 to 3 days into a better diet, you have already changed your gut bacteria  – My Low Carb programme which keeps insulin level low will positively affect the gut bacteria population.

Note: A blood test can show a normal sugar level BUT does not test your insulin levels used to process a meal (which is not part of a standard GP test) – the experiment took 5 hours of taking bloods and is not realistic for general practice

7. Vinegar is acetic acid – it interacts with receptors and calms your immune cells from over -reacting.  Mothers on high fibre diets and taking vinegar may reduce risk of asthma in their offspring. This is useful for any conditions where your immune cells kick-off inflammation e.g. asthma, rhinitis, Rheumatoid arthritis, MS. Use vinegar in your salad dressings, add to water and drink before a meal, add to curries, stir-fries etc.

Please share these videos with your friends interested in food & health, especially if they have inflammatory conditions.

Joan Moloney BSc runs a nutritional weight-loss service – JustWeight.ie