A new study has found that parts of toxic gut bacteria can enter the bloodstream and damage fat cells, leading to weight gain.Guardian“.
Researchers at Nottingham Trent University say they are helping to shed light on how endotoxins drive obesity and related diseases such as type 2 diabetes.
In a study recently published in the UK medical journal BMC, researchers evaluated 156 people, 63 of whom were classified as obese.
The researchers examined two types of fat cells: white fat cells, which store energy, and brown fat cells, which use energy and are linked to metabolic activity.
Their goal was to understand the role of endotoxins in obesity and increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
Researchers have found that white fat cells in obese people are less likely to turn into brown fat cells compared to lean people.
This may be due to higher levels of endotoxins found in the blood of obese participants, the researchers said.
Endotoxins are toxic substances found in bacterial cell walls and released during decomposition or decay. In a healthy gut, endotoxins are part of the life cycle of microbes that play an important role in overall human health.
But in obese people, the intestinal barrier is more fragile, allowing endotoxins to enter the bloodstream and thus other parts of the body.
“Gut microbes that enter the bloodstream reduce normal fat cell function and metabolic activity, which increases with weight gain, contributing to the risk of developing diabetes,” said lead study author Mark Christian.
“With weight gain, certain parts of the gut microbiome appear to be less able to reduce damage to fat cells.”
