New study suggests the microbes in humans' intestines may influence food choices

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/08/your-gut-bacteria-want-you-to-eat-a-cupcake/378702/

by dctoedt • 12 years ago

34 19 12 years ago

If anyone knows a legal way around the paywall, I'd love to hear about it. I wonder if they go into detail about probiotics that are actually "proven" to reduce fat or improve mood, among other things. Also, did they actually demonstrate a correlation between gut bacteria and mood/cravings, or do they merely discuss "possible" ways such a connection might exist?

dctoedt• 12 years ago

If anyone knows a legal way around the paywall....

That's why I linked to the Atlantic article and not to the (paywalled) journal article.

BTW, the title I originally used (per HN rules) was the actual title of the Atlantic article, namely Your gut bacteria want you to eat a cupcake. The mods changed it to the Atlantic posting's subtitle, which is certainly more informative.

dang• 12 years ago

You're welcome to use subtitles as well when, as is often the case, they're more accurate and neutral. Our goal is to avoid rewriting or editorializing titles ourselves.

Since headlines are often written by someone other than the article author, a subtitle (or the first sentence of the article) is often closer to the author's intent anyway.

tdonia• 12 years ago

http://www.biologydirect.com/content/9/1/14

eugeneyev2• 12 years ago

On a related topic, is there a reasonably priced option to actually get access to all of these journals (instead of subscribing to a single one or buying individual articles) .

Something like Factiva or EbscoHost, etc - but offering individual subscriptions (and not limited to just a single journal/publisher).

briandh• 12 years ago

It's a little pricey and I've never used it, but I think DeepDyve is what you're looking for.

charlieflowers2• 12 years ago

Wow, I found the full article: http://www.scribd.com/doc/237130401/Is-eating-behavior-manip...

johndavi• 12 years ago

There is so much yet to come from studying the microbiome and its influence over "us" (the brain part, that is).

For a good overview of how much there is still to uncover, see the 2012 New Yorker article "Germs Are Us": http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/10/22/germs-are-us

For a lighter-still take on the gut-brain connection, Radiolab had a segment a couple of years ago on the vagus nerve (mentioned as a possible culprit in the linked article/study): http://www.radiolab.org/story/197242-gut-feelings/

Emily Deans routinely blogs about the gut-brain connection: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evolutionary-psychiatry/...

dm2• 12 years ago

It's amazing how important organisms that live in our intestines (and other parts of our body) are to our health, mood, immune system, and even our offspring.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Microbiome_Project

http://commonfund.nih.gov/hmp/overview

S_A_P• 12 years ago

So I still don't buy it. It seems to me that someone who eats a lot of a certain type of food would naturally increase the type of bacteria that thrive on that type of food. I dont eat a lot of Thai food, not because I dont enjoy the flavor, but because my gut bacteria seems to want to cast it out in as painful a manner as possible. I bet if I were to eat Thai food every day for a year, things would change and my guts flora would reflect that. Bacteria cant think for you...

sp332• 12 years ago

The article says that the microbiome can be different for people with identical diets, and the people will have different cravings. Just because some bacteria thrive on certain food doesn't mean they will make you crave that food.

mpyne• 12 years ago

I don't think it's that far-fetched.

If you accept the proposition that it's possible for a microbe to secrete a protein or something into the bloodstream that causes you to prefer a certain type of food (and keep in mind that we already have evidence of biologically-driven food cravings, e.g. in pregnant women), then there's a good argument that evolutionary pressure would eventually cause gut flora that could help deliver its own preferred food source to predominate in human digestive systems.

stephenr3• 12 years ago

Ok now I'm curious (as a westerner living in thailand) - are you talking about vomiting, or the other end?

In either case, I can't work out how specifically thai food would make you do either consistently.

haversine• 12 years ago

Peanuts and hot sauce/peppers? I realize that's not all Thai food, but a lot of people start with a dish containing those things. Like when someone says Korean food doesn't agree with them, having only tried the gimchi.

dkhar• 12 years ago

In my experience, the Thai restaurants around me (East coast US) like to make their sauces very oil/butter heavy, which contributes to the second phenomenon you alluded to. I've never been to Thailand, so I don't know if this is an exclusively American phenomenon or not.

I personally really like a good Lat na, but what I'm served is often noodles in a thick, chicken flavored grease (rather than stock or gravy).

BugBrother• 12 years ago

Try small volumes to start?

You might have some allergy or food intolerance to a common ingredient. Then directed selection of your gut biome won't help.

(I love Thai food myself, but it is a bit dangerous to even go into restaurant, since I'm really allergic to nuts and peanuts. I can't even be in the same room as peanuts.)

New study suggests the microbes in humans' intestines may influence food choices

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