Consuming your own fecal microbiome during diet can limit weight recovery

People who consume frozen microbiome capsules derived from their own feces when dieting may limit their weight gain, according to a new study published in Gastroenterology, conducted by a team of researchers led by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU).

In an unknown, 14-month clinical trial in Israel, Prof. Dr. Shai, BGU Ph.D. student Dr. Ehud Rinott and Dr. Ilan Youngster from Tel Aviv University, collaborated with a group of international experts from American and European research institutes.

“It is known that most weight loss diets reach their lowest body weight after 4-6 months, and are then challenged by the plateau or phase back, despite continuous diets,” says Dr. Shai. a member of the School of Public Health. In this groundbreaking study, the international team of researchers examined whether maintaining the optimized personal microbiome of fecal transplants after six months of weight loss helps to maintain weight loss by transplanting the optimal microbiome back into the next expected recovery phase.

In the weight loss trial, abdominal obese or dyslipidemic (high cholesterol) participants in Israel were randomly assigned to one of the three groups (1) healthy diet guidelines, (2) Mediterranean diet, and (3) green-Mediterranean diet, After six months during the weight loss phase, 90 eligible participants provided a fecal sample that was processed into aFMT by frozen, opaque, and odorless capsules. Participants were then randomly assigned to the groups given 100 capsules with their own fecal microbiota as a placebo which they took until month 14.

In the green-Mediterranean diet group, participants were provided with Mankai, a specific water stem of duckweed in a green shake, green tea and 28g of walnuts. This was the group diet strategy that caused the biggest significant change in the gut microbiome composition during the weight loss phase.

The 90 participants lost an average of 8.3 kg (18.2 lbs.) After six months, only in the green-Mediterranean diet group did aFMT limit weight return of only 17.1%, against 50% for the placebo.

“The green-Mediterranean diet also resulted in the preservation of weight-loss-associated specific bacteria and microbial metabolic pathways, particularly glucose transport, after the intervention of microbiomes, compared to the control,” says Dr. Rinott.

In a complementary Mankai-specific mouse model experiment conducted by prof. Omry Koren at Bar-Ilan University, the researchers were able to reproduce the effects of weight-based transplantation on weight gain and insulin sensitivity, and the specific contribution of isolating Mankai consumption to stimulating these effects.

“This study is the first of its kind to prove to humans that maintaining an ‘ideal’ intestinal microbial composition can be used at a later stage to achieve metabolic benefits,” says Drs. Youngster, director of the Pediatric Disease Infection Unit and the Center for Microbiome Research at Shamir Medical Center. “Using the patient’s own stool after optimization is a new concept that overcomes many of these barriers. It is my belief that the use of autologous fecal microbiota transplantation will be applied to other indications in the future as well. . “

Furthermore, green plant-based diets such as Mankai better optimize the microbiome for the microbiota transplant procedure. This potentially optimizes the conditions for the aFMT, collected in the maximum weight loss phase. The water plant of Mankai duckweed is grown in Israel and other countries in a closed environment and is very environmentally friendly – a fraction of the amount of water required to produce every gram of protein compared to soy, kale or spinach.

According to Professor Omry Koren, at Bar-Ilan University who led the animal experiments: “The nutrition microbiome axis has been proven in this study as a high polyphenol diet, and specifically, Mankai, a protein-based plant and dietary fiber can ideally optimize the microbiome in the weight loss phase, to stimulate vigorous microbiome to restore the flora of germs associated with recovery from attenuation and improved glycemic status after transplantation. “

“These findings may be a good application of personal medicine,” says Dr. Shai who is also an assistant professor at Harvard. “Freezing a personal microbiome bench can be an effective way to maintain a healthy weight during dieting, because the rapid weight loss phase is accompanied by optimal cardiometabolic state. By optimizing the composition and function of the intestinal microbiome in the host, we have a new approach to maintaining metabolic memory: taking a sample of the intestinal microbiome in its ideal phase, and mastering it as diets begin to regain their lost weight.