1) Very Low Calorie Diet
A very low calorie diet (about 800 calories per day in liquid form) can significantly alter your gut microbiome and can help you lose weight. However, it can result in the increase in the population of bacteria in your gut that can lead to severe diarrhea and colitis.
2) Losing Weight
The study included 80 participants (all post-menopausal women) who went on a trial where they consumed a very-low-calorie liquid diet for 16 weeks to lose weight. The participants were successful in losing weight.
3) Transplanted Fecal Samples
The researchers transplanted fecal samples (post-diet) from the participants into mice which were allowed to continue eating the same amount of food before transplant. Surprisingly, the mice started losing weight. Their were profound changes in the gut microbiome of the mice, including an increase in the population of Clostridiodes difficile, a pathogenic bacterium that can lead to severe diarrhea and colitis.
4) Very Low Calorie Diet Can Help You Lose Weight
Take-home message: A very low calorie diet can help you lose weight but it can profoundly change the bacteria population in your gut. Changes in gut microbiome have been shown in previous studies to either help or hinder weight loss.
The study was done by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and published in Nature.
Journal source: Nature
Caloric restriction disrupts the microbiota and colonization resistance
23 June 2021