This is an important reason why you crave sugar
If you are like most people, you have a sweet tooth. And when you get a craving for something sweet, it can be tough to manage. Eating too much sugar can lead to weight gain, tooth decay, and other health problems.
But why do sugar cravings occur?
There are usually many factors involved in the appearance of cravings in general, including genetics, food palatability, past food experiences, emotional state, and the environment.
To investigate why we crave sugary foods and what can we do to better control it, we tend to look at animals first.
I dug into the research to find out what is the effect of our gut bacteria on our eating behavior and cravings.
To read the full article go to this link!
Gut Bacteria Regulate Diet Cravings
Interestingly, a major environmental contributor is the gut microbiota. Gut bacteria impact our body’s physiology and metabolism, and several articles point toward the idea that gut bacteria can change our feeding behaviors.
To eliminate gut microbiota, scientists treat mice with several antibiotics. These mice show changes in blood sugar levels and circulating hormones related to hunger. Gut microbiota seems to influence diet selection in mice.
The mice’s brain sense bacterial compounds that regulate the appetite of the mice. Quite incredible if you ask me!
Scientists Identify The Bacteria That Reduce Sugar Cravings
By treating the mice with several combinations of antibiotics that kill different bacteria, they found the bacteria that reduced sugar cravings in these mice.
Lactobacillus johnsonii and Lactobacillus gasseri and bacteria from the family S24–7 (uncultured bacteria within the order of Bacteroidales) correlated with suppression of high-sugar foods consumption.
When introducing these bacteria to antibiotic-treated mice, scientists noticed a reduction in binge eating behaviors.
In Conclusion: Should You Take Probiotics To Help Reduce Sugar Cravings?
We already knew that different bacteria prefer certain foods: some bacteria like fiber, but other prefer proteins and fats. It is very interesting to see that the previous speculation on how gut bacteria could modulate our eating behaviors is now more certain than ever.
This body of research suggests that certain bacteria induce changes in our body and brain so that we crave high- or lower-calorie foods.
If you are interested in buying these probiotics, some companies are already selling Lactobacillus johnsonii and Lactobacillus gasseri probiotics. Moreover, Lactobacillus gasseri can establish itself in an already stable gut microbiome and has a positive impact on the immune system.
