You’ve most likely heard about gut microbes. Perhaps in a yoghurt ad, offering all kinds of health benefits if you eat their goods, but is this true – can you support beneficial gut flora for weight loss?

To address that question, let’s first look at what gut bacteria are, what function they play in your body, how to tell if anything is out of balance, and what you can do about it.
What exactly are gut bacteria?
Before we get into which gut bacteria trigger weight loss, let’s take a step back and look at what gut bacteria are in the first place.

The human body is made up of around 40 trillion bacteria, which outweigh your body’s own cells by at least a 3:1 ratio, and some even propose a 10:1 ratio. But don’t be alarmed by these figures; this is a normal, natural process, and many of those bacteria work to benefit your body rather than damage it.

There are now about 1,000 distinct types of bacteria in your gut’s internal ecosystem, which is found in your gastrointestinal tract. This internal microbiota (also known as gut flora) develops throughout the first few years after birth, while current research shows that it begins as early as gestation, implying that what you consume during pregnancy influences your baby’s future health.

All of this helps the body control a variety of functions, from digestion to immunity and even allergies and intolerances to certain foods and dietary categories.

Each person’s ecosystem has a unique mix of bacteria, ranging from “good guys” like bifidobacteria, escherichia coli, and lactobacilli to “bad guys” like campylobacter, enterococcus faecaus, and clostridium difficile. That doesn’t imply it’s a numbers game; your bacteria should be in balance and in the right places to keep you happy and healthy.

Quick facts:

In all, your body has around 40 trillion germs.
Your gut microbiota contains approximately 1,000 different species of bacteria.
Your microbiota may account for up to 2kg of your total body weight.
What you consume during pregnancy has an impact on your gut microbiota — the mother’s diet has an impact on her gut bacteria.
Signs that your gut bacteria is unhealthy
“All illnesses originate in the stomach,” Hippocrates famously stated, and it seems that despite coining the statement almost 2,000 years ago, he wasn’t incorrect. While your microbiota isn’t to blame for every ailment, it does have an impact on your general health and well-being.
Modern medicine has connected an imbalanced microbiome to a variety of illnesses, including:

Autism \sDepression
Inadequate immune system
Metabolism is slow.
Obesity and weight increase
Inflammation and inflammatory conditions
And a lot more.
Research into how your microbiota impacts your general system is still continuing, and we can expect to see many more concerns arise in the future, as well as perhaps some answers.

A shift in your weight that you can’t manage to control is one of the most visible and unpleasant indications of poor gut health. However, there are a few more symptoms that you should be aware of:

Uncomfortable stomach – you may feel the urge to go to the bathroom, have constipation, or feel overall ill or poorly for no apparent cause. These are red flags that something isn’t right.
Feeling weary all the time — unable to sleep or sleeping excessively; maybe you’re getting the ‘proper’ amount but don’t feel refreshed. If you’re always tired, the explanation might lie in your belly.
Rashes and skin irritation – itchy skin, strange blemishes, or even freshly developing spots might be signs of a flora imbalance.
Food intolerances – have you ever eaten anything and then quickly regretted it? Foods to which you are intolerant or allergic have a foothold in your microbiome.
Poor immune system – if it’s cold and flu season and you seem to have everything, despite your daily vitamins, it may be time to reconsider what you’re eating and attempt to improve your internal health.