Cutting Edge Research shows that obesity and gut microbiota are linked. It seems as though our Westernization of populations is making us fat. This most recent study by a team of Colombian scientists has taken a magnified look at the guts of populations that are undergoing a transition from ‘hunter-gather’ to industrialized living.

Colombians have been shifting rapidly from diets of high fiber toward diets of complex carbohydrates (eg: rice and potato) so these scientists have cleverly thought of taking a peek at what is happening to their gut microbes and microbe population changes before these Colombians become  completely Westernized like us.

We have literally billions of microbes in our gut working away digesting our food we eat. These microbes of our gut are fundamental to our health. More and more research is supporting those particular foods we eat can promote the growth of good microbes to make us more healthy in the face of our ever-increasing Western lifestyles. Excitingly, the research is steering in the direction of  weight control.