Heal Your Gut To Lose Weight

Feeding the bacteria in your belly may be the key to dropping pounds.

- Liz Krieger

Small can be very powerful—looking at you, split atom, microchip, and mosquito—and that definitely holds true when it comes to bacteria in your gut. The 100 trillion tiny microbes, aka gut flora, that call your digestive tract home play a pivotal role in everything from your immune system to your digestion and your mood. However, researchers are now convinced that there’s something else your microbiome (your internal microbial ecosystem) affects—your weight.

“The gut is connected to everything,” says Mark Hyman, M.D., director of the Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Functional Medicine. “If your microbiome is out of whack, i.e., it doesn’t have enough good bacteria or too much bad bacteria, it can affect how your food is metabolised as well as lead to inflammation.” It’s a cascade of casualties: Bad bacteria in the gut can trigger inflammation—in your skin, joints, brain, everywhere—and send your body’s immune response into overdrive as it tries to rid the body of the bacteria. This can lead to insulin resistance, which can promote weight gain, says Hyman. The theory is that more good bacteria helps you process food more efficiently and reduces cravings.