There is a microscopic world inside the human body, with trillions of microorganisms living in it and impacting health. Now, a new study is linking a specific type of gut bacteria to binge eating and weight gain.
Everyone has about 200 different species of bacteria, viruses and fungi in their digestive tract. While many are good for what medical experts call a “gut microbiome,” not all are.
Researchers studied mice and humans who tended to binge eat and found similar levels of at least two types of bacteria in their microbiomes: one that is good for the body’s health and another that is not.
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The study also found that increasing the amount of the “good” bacteria could prevent compulsive eating in mice. While that element of the study wasn’t conducted with humans, researchers are starting to plan human experiments.
Researchers said this experiment furthers the notion that the gut talks to the brain, but doesn’t explain how bacteria protect against developing compulsive eating habits. Despite these findings, the scientists said several more factors play into binge eating, such as genetics and environment.
