The question: Can gut microbes influence our eating behavior?
Veronica sends a short list of the food and drink she particularly enjoys (and on occasion craves). Meanwhile I figure out the composition. I weigh choice and consequence.
Microbiome. Healthy food / Unhealthy food. I weigh the food that feeds good microbes and promotes health (plant-based, fiber-rich) against the food that feeds bad microbes and supports dysbiosis (microbial imbalances that drive disease).
A few things I learn along the way: Less diversity of the microbes in our gut can lead a person to obesity. A healthy microbiome can protect us from infection and disease and produces vitamins (B12 and K).
I know (cuz I draw) there is limited space in the gut. I also know microbes complete for the space. Microbes use it = Microbes use us. Microbes compete with each other and they compete with us (their host) for space and resources.
What if each and every individual’s gut microbes have needs and wants of their own ? This sort of changes the picture, doesn’t it? And you thought self-control (or lack of) was the main thing driving your food choice and intake.
This whole thing starts to make a little more sense as I draw and paint the food on Veronica’s list, into the composition. I can’t help but think about all the apartments going up in Phoenix and all the growing city traffic. Microbes, like Phoenicians, might be trying to figure out how to survive and thrive in dense environment. #competition
Below are some of the images and notes I post into social media. And as usual…the food pulls in the people (comment threads, not included, were interesting to read).
Pepsi 🥤 has 41g of sugar (and 38mg of caffeine). A Snickers bar 🍫 has 27g of sugar and 14g of fat. Who do you think craves sugars and fats more? You or the microbes that live in ur gut? #Conflict between #host (you and me) and #microbe (our bugs!). #obesity
I read somewhere that the grilled cheese🧀 🥪 might be the most popular sandwich in the world. 😮 Could this be true!? You tell me. They always remind me of my grandmother who used to take me to a local diner to enjoy one. She loved ❤️ a good grilled cheese 🧀 🥪 . All I’m going to say is that they change your gut flora. All dairy changes the gut flora. It has something to do w short chain fatty acids (lipids). Do your microbes 🦠 love 🧀 🥪?? I bet some of them do. #oozycheese btw…all food changes the gut flora. #bread and #butter #noprocessedcheese
I wrote about the benefits of 🥑 in my last study and they’re plenty. In this current study about obesity and microbes 🦠 – things get complicated. 🥑 are unsaturated fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated). It feels to me like the benefit might be unique to each individual depending on their gut microbes. 🥑 satiate and if everything is balanced they can suppress hunger and increase meal satisfaction. But if it’s true that microbes 🦠 can hijack our neuronal systems 😮 and our 🧠 brain (I 👂 they can!) well then this changes things. Do microbes 🦠 compete w us for food and energy? It’s the question here. Anyway- I ❤️ 🥑. #appetitehormones #WhoIsInCharge? Is there anyone who doesn’t love a good guacamole?!
🥩 The art of the red meat 🥩 (in this case medium rare). What if 🥩 red meant promoted the growth of bad 🦠 bacteria? And what if we benefitted from eating less of it? This is how I 👁 it (as I ✏️ it). Think about the space in your gut 🤔. It’s limited, right? And tunneled and narrow and twisty turny… Why would we put something hard to digest into our gut to take up space (for a good amount of time) when we can eat more fiber-rich and plant-based 🌱 food that promoted microbes beneficial to our gut? Things could move easily, quickly, take the turns smoothly…or not. Just something light and easy to think about. 🤔 WhatKind? HowMuch? HowOften?
Clementines. 🍊 Oranges! Fruits feed good bacteria 🦠 . 🍊 🍊🍊 in particular have some sort of soluble fiber our gut bacteria 🦠 ferments. One of the byproducts of this process is a fatty acid called #butyrate. Butyrate helps maintain the cells that line our GI tract. And that’s a good thing! You know the soluble fiber is mostly in the stuff that divides the segments of the orange…so eat them all up. Good stuff! #ShortChainFattyAcid #VitaminC #AnOrangeTreeGrowsInPhoenix 🍊🦠
The last thing I draw on the list is 🍺. Veronica likes a German wheat beer called Hefeweizen. I played w the logo Hefe and turned it into the word Jefa. #Jefa, Spanish slang indicating the female #boss. She is! Ok, now back to the microbes…🤔 Who craves the 🍺? You? or your microbes 🦠? Which microbes? #VitamiminB #Polyphenols Your body lets you know. #OrDysbiosis
Do microbes influence your eating behavior?
#obesity #microbiome #conflict #cooperation
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Monica Aissa Martinez 