Heal Your Gut to Be the Best Fat Burner

Immune health, fat loss, inflammation, mood, brain health… Nearly everything starts in your gut.

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Want to be the best fat burner? Start with your gut.

The pandemic has highlighted the importance of immune health. If you want a strong immune system, start with your gut.

Want to reduce the chronic inflammation that contributes to nearly every disease on the planet and locks the doors on your fat cells? What about balancing your hormones so you maintain a steady mood, focus, and sex drive?

For all of the above reasons… and for so, so many other reasons: Start by healing your gut.

“When I say it all starts in your gut, I mean almost everything!” says Vincent Pedre, MD, in Happy Gut. “Headaches, migraines, allergies, autoimmunity, weight gain, acne, skin rashes, yeast infections, hormonal imbalances, fatigue, immune challenges, even the way you sense pain — they all relate to the condition and health of your gut.”

According to Dr. Pedre, the gut has five primary functions:

1. Digesting food
2. Absorbing nutrients
3. Maintaining an immune barrier to the outside world
4. Detoxifying waste and toxins
5. Keeping a symbiotic relationship with favorable bacteria

All of those things depend on the delicate balance among trillions of gut bacteria. These hardworking bacteria create the foundation for strong immune health, a healthy weight, reducing inflammation, and so many other critical tasks.

The Trillions of Gut Bacteria that Run the Show

What does a trillion look like? To put that number into perspective, one trillion seconds of clock time equals — are you ready for this? — 31,546 years. (1)

I’m asking because our bodies harbor trillions of microorganisms.

“We are not alone in our bodies,” says Herb Brody in Nature. “Living inside every person are trillions of microorganisms — bacteria, viruses, fungi and other life forms that are collectively known as the microbiome.” (2)

These microbes are found throughout the body: in your respiratory tract, nose, lungs, ears, nails, skin, and (for women) the vagina.

The terms here can get confusing, so I’ll clarify: The community of gut microorganisms itself is called the microbiota. When we talk about the genetic code of this community, we say microbiome.

The vast majority of these microbes find their home in the gut. As you move farther down the gastrointestinal tract, the number of these microbes increases, with the colon housing the vast majority of them. (3)

“With trillions of bacteria, each with their own thousands of genes, the microbiome is like a four-pound superorganism living inside of you,” says Herman Pontzer in Burn. “These bacteria digest much of the fiber we eat… Our microbiome also digests other stuff that escapes the small intestine, aids in immune system activity, helps produce vitamins and other essential nutrients, and keeps the digestive tract running properly. The effects on our health, from obesity to autoimmune diseases, are wide-ranging, and new discoveries are happening every day. What we know for sure at this point is, if your microbiome isn’t happy, you aren’t happy.”

Among their roles, these trillions of gut bugs — we’re talking a whopping 500–1,000 different species — metabolize nutrients, produce nutrients such as vitamin K, protect against infections, and… well, the list is very, very long. (4)

“The microbiome affects our mood, libido, metabolism, immunity, and even our perception of the world and the clarity of our thoughts,” says David Perlmutter, MD, in Brain Maker. “It helps determine whether we are fat or thin, energetic or lethargic. Put simply, everything about our health — how we feel both emotionally and physically — hinges on the state of our microbiome.”

To get all of those benefits, you need the right balance of gut microbes. While there will always be some bad ones sticking around, you want these gut bugs to be mostly good guys. Among these bugs, you also want diversity.

“Your gut microbiome is just as much of an ecosystem as the Amazon rain forest,” says Will Bulsiewicz, MD, in Fiber Fueled. “It thrives on balance and harmony. In the jungle, all animals, plants, and microbes exist with a purpose, even the mosquitoes and snakes. They all bring something to that harmonious balance, and as much as I hate mosquitoes and snakes, their loss would have unintended consequences and diminish the health of that ecosystem. This is why biodiversity is critically important to any ecosystem.”

The interplay of these trillions of bacteria is complex, and science continues to evolve. Researchers continue to understand how they behave, interact with each other, and contribute to health and disease. (5)

One thing that has emerged about our understanding: Maintaining balance or symbiosis among the trillions of gut bacteria is key. Here, I want to highlight a few of those many, many roles to show you exactly why the key to health and vitality starts in your gut.

A Healthy Gut Keeps You Lean

What you eat, how you move, and how well you manage stress and sleep are all critical to be the best fat burner. But to lose weight and maintain a healthy weight, you also want a harmonious mix of gut bacteria along with the right balance of gut bacteria.

“Discard all (or most) of what you’ve ever learned about metabolism, diabetes, and weight loss,” says Dr. Bulsiewicz in Fiber Fueled. “It’s a loss of diversity in the gut microbiota, increase in pathogenic bacteria, and low-grade inflammation from bacterial endotoxin that is associated with diabetes, weight gain, and obesity.”

We’re still learning how these trillions of gut bugs influence weight, but emerging studies reveal some fascinating conclusions.

“The link between the gut and metabolic disease is a growing area of obesity research,” writes Anahad O’Connor in the New York Times. “In recent years, scientists have uncovered clues that the microbiota, the community of trillions of microbes that live in the gut, plays a role in weight gain and metabolic disease.” (6)

In one study, researchers looked at the microbial composition of 123 non-obese and 169 obese Danish individuals.

Those who carried extra weight were more likely to lack the richness of bacteria that sustains a healthy gut. They were also more likely to be insulin resistant and have dyslipidemia (high cholesterol and/or triglyceride levels), both of which lead to type 2 diabetes.

What’s worse, those who were obese and had lower bacterial richness were more likely to gain more weight over time. The good news is that when people who were obese lost weight, they had significant improvements within the microbiome. (7)

Other studies have found that gut microbiota diversity was negatively associated with long-term weight gain. (Fiber intake, which I’ll talk about in a future blog, was positively correlated with that diversity.) In other words, maintaining a diverse range of gut microbes might protect you from gaining weight. (8)

Research about the microbiome and obesity is constantly evolving. Scientists have even isolated specific bacteria, such as Akkermansia muciniphila (Akkermansia), to better learn how they might help reduce obesity and support gut health. (9)

Don’t expect any easy answers. Regardless of what promise specific bacteria may show, the best way to restore gut health starts at the end of your fork. Eliminating highly reactive foods and incorporating plenty of fiber-rich foods along with protein and healthy fats is the foundation for strong gut health.

A Healthy Gut Can Support An Optimistic Mood

If you’ve ever felt “butterflies in your gut,” or felt something in your stomach that corresponded with an emotion or feeling, you understand the gut-brain connection.

“The neurons in the gut are so innumerable that many scientists are now calling the totality of them ‘the second brain,’” says Dr. Perlmutter in Brain Maker. “Not only is this second brain regulating muscles, immune cells, and hormones, but it’s also manufacturing something really important.”

According to Dr. Bulsiewicz, gut bacteria can produce over 30 neurotransmitters. They include dopamine, which contributes to reward-motivated behavior. Dopamine is a precursor for norepinephrine, a catecholamine that plays a role in alertness, memory, learning, and attention.

Then there’s serotonin. About 90–95 percent of this feel-good neurotransmitter is produced in the gut. (10) When serotonin is low, you’re more likely to be depressed, you have trouble sleeping, and you’re more likely to crave something sugary.

I could go on, but you can begin to see how balance in these neurotransmitters is important. And to have that balance among those 30 neurotransmitters, you need harmony among the trillions of bacteria that inhabit your gut.

A Healthy Gut = A Healthy Immune System

About 70–80 percent of your immune cells are in your gut. (11) Stop and think about that for a minute. If your gut health isn’t stellar, you’re going to get sick more often.

“The reason most of your immune system is deployed in your gut is simple: the intestinal wall is the border with the outside world,” says Dr. Perlmutter in Brain Maker. “Aside from skin, it’s where your body has the most chances of encountering foreign material and organisms. And it is in constant communication with every other immune system cell in the body. If it meets a problematic substance in the gut, it alerts the rest of the immune system to be on guard.”

Among its duties, the microbiome teaches immune cells called T-cells to determine what may be harmful to the body. It also acts as a gatekeeper, staying constantly on guard against any potential threats. (12)

Bacteria in the colon ferment fiber into short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). These SCFAs provide your colon energy, but they also play a role in overall wellness, including helping maintain a healthy immune response. (13)

A Healthier Gut Starts at the End of Your Fork

All of these things — being the best fat burner, having stellar immune health, keeping healthy inflammation levels; the list goes on and on — depend on the health of your gut.

When these trillions of gut bugs fall out of balance, a condition called dysbiosis results. As I’ll explain in my next blog, these imbalances can impact your weight, immune health, mood, and… really, just about everything.

The good news is that you have the ability to favorably shift that gut balance… starting with what goes on the end of your fork.

When you nix the highly reactive foods that create havoc in your gut and eat plenty of anti-inflammatory and gut-healing foods, you become the best fat burner… and support gut health in the bargain.

Gut support starts with the right prebiotic-probiotic combo. I wasn’t happy with any formulas on the market, so I created my own. Microbiome Balance combines four types of phages and prebiotics along with seven strains of probiotics — a selection grounded in scientific research for ideal gastrointestinal and immune support.* You can only find Microbiome Balance here.

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The views in this blog by JJ Virgin should never be used as a substitute for professional medical advice. Please work with a healthcare practitioner concerning any medical problem or concern. The information here is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or condition. Statements contained here have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

References

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9. Naito Y, Uchiyama K, Takagi T. A next-generation beneficial microbe: Akkermansia muciniphila. J Clin Biochem Nutr. 2018 Jul;63(1):33–35. doi: 10.3164/jcbn.18–57. Epub 2018 Jun 20. PMID: 30087541; PMCID: PMC6064808.
10. Strandwitz P. Neurotransmitter modulation by the gut microbiota. Brain Res. 2018 Aug 15;1693(Pt B):128–133. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2018.03.015. PMID: 29903615; PMCID: PMC6005194.
11. Wiertsema SP, van Bergenhenegouwen J, Garssen J, Knippels LMJ. The Interplay between the Gut Microbiome and the Immune System in the Context of Infectious Diseases throughout Life and the Role of Nutrition in Optimizing Treatment Strategies. Nutrients. 2021 Mar 9;13(3):886. doi: 10.3390/nu13030886. PMID: 33803407; PMCID: PMC8001875.
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13. Ratajczak W, Rył A, Mizerski A, Walczakiewicz K, Sipak O, Laszczyńska M. Immunomodulatory potential of gut microbiome-derived short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Acta Biochim Pol. 2019 Mar 4;66(1):1–12. doi: 10.18388/abp.2018_2648. PMID: 30831575.