JERUSALEM (JNS) – It’s estimated that more than a billion people smoke cigarettes, despite its role in causing disease. Recent studies have shown that 70 percent of smokers are interested in quitting but are concerned that they will gain weight.
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For years, the exact link between weight gain and quitting smoking has been unclear. In a recent study published in Nature, Weizmann Institute of Science researchers say the culprit may be weight-modulating compounds released by gut microbes.
The researchers found that mice regularly exposed to cigarette smoke failed to gain weight, despite consuming a diet high in fat and sugar. When the smoke exposure stopped, the mice rapidly gained weight. But when the mice were given broad-spectrum antibiotics that depleted their microbiome, they gained much less weight after undergoing smoking cessation, staying slim for months regardless of their diet.
The scientists believe that smoking-related compounds such as nicotine penetrated the gut of the smoke-exposed mice, altering the gut’s bacterial composition and, consequently, the body’s metabolism.
They also assessed the microbiomes of 96 smoking and nonsmoking people. They found marked alterations in the microbiome of smokers, as well as microbial metabolite changes similar to those found in the smoke-exposed mice.
“Our findings exemplify how the host and microbiome act as partners in regulating weight and metabolism,” said immunologist professor Eran Elinav, who headed the research team.
“The compounds we have identified may lead to new treatments that will help people avoid weight gain when quitting smoking. Moreover, these compounds may be further developed into therapies to fight obesity even among nonsmokers.”
Tremendously foolhardy. Terrain theory is a much better idea. It is popularly known for the last 150 years or so as a holistic way of health relating to concern for care of the biome (the gut). Robust health is based on a balanced lifestyle and probiotic and prebiotic foods such as just about any naturally fermented ones that help create the strongest biotics in the gut. That’s more or less it.
Depleting naturally occurring colonies of bionics through anti-biotics and related therapies is shown to be a recipe to create ensuing maladies. The concept around this, of which several books have been written, propose ‘eating fat to loss fat’ – in other words, by using healthy fats from nutrient dense foods, pounds will naturally fall away.
Or maybe the unhappy quitters just eat more to ease the craving