Do you like to take chips and burgers at weekend ? Then you may be at risk of getting obese.
A study was done by Margaret Morris, the Head of Pharmacology at University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia, examined the impact of ‘yo-yo dieting’ on the gut microbiota of rats. The study was done to find out that how continuous or intermittent intake of unhealthy food effects the gut mocrobiota.
The findings revealed that exposure to unhealthy food three days in a week is sufficient to disturb the pattern of microbiota in same manner as continuous intake of unhealthy food does.
About 100 trillion microbial cells in human gut influence the metabolism, nutrition and immune function of body. Disturbance in microbiota of human may lead to several problems related with gastric system as well as may be reason for obesity. Destruction of microbial pattern in human gut is not a god sign for the healthy life style.
According to Morris, One who takes healthy food all the days of week but is exposed to junk/ unhealthy food at weekends, undo all good effects of healthy food.
Researchers compared the abundance of microbiota in rats given continuous access to either a healthy diet or junk food with a group cycled between the two diets, healthy for four days and junk for three, over 16 weeks.
After 16 weeks researchers found that rats in cycle diet, were 18 per cent heavier than those on the healthy diet.
According to the research findings, there was indistinguishable microbiota result between the rats continuous on junk food and the rats who were on junk food in cycle, but there was significant difference when compared to rats on continuous healthy food. Junk food diet has also adverse effect on the abundance of microbial species capable of metabolising flavonoids, which not only assist in weight loss but also have neuro-protective functions within the brain.
While these findings are yet to be replicated in humans,
It can not be ignored.