Is a personalized diet the secret to long-term good health?

What is the secret of a balanced diet to maintain good health? Genetic epidemiologist Tim Spector may have the answer after studying the extent to which our genes contribute to a wide range of human conditions and diseases.

Spector, founder of the UK Twin Registry at Kings College, investigated the genes of 13,000 pairs of twins to determine why these sets of siblings often die of different diseases.

“We are much more different than we have been led to believe., he asserted during an interview with the BBC.

To find an answer, the scientist began to study epigenetics: the power of external factors in the way genes can be turned on and off. As a first conclusion, Spector noted that the weight between twins can differ by up to 10 kg.

“We could only explain a small part of that 10kg difference with epigenetics”, I explain Spector a la BBC. So we knew there was something going on that wasn’t due to genes.” added.

After further studying the case, together with his work team, they discovered that “The only thing they really differed in was their gut microbes.”

“We all know that some people respond to some diets, but others do not, and yet we have a kind of dogma that we should all be the same and that if we don’t lose weight it’s our fault.” dice.

The scientist asked a set of twins to provide stool samples to measure their microbes.

“We found that in all cases the slimmer twin had a more diverse microbiome (higher number of different species), and almost always had a high number of a couple of (types of) microbes that stood out from the crowd,” points out.

To demonstrate what I was suggesting, Spector introduced one of the bacteria “that lost weight” to sterile mice. The results showed that the bacteria Christensenella it prevented the redors from “getting fat”.

“That shows that a beneficial microbe can have an effect on our intestines to somehow change our metabolism and prevent us from gaining weight.” assured. “Probablembody there are hundreds of thousands of microbes or strains like these that in combination can have this beneficial effect”, he continued.

Another of the conclusions he reached was that to ensure that we have diverse microbes in our body, we must have a varied diet, which could be achieved by consuming 30 plants a week.

“It doesn’t mean having to drink 30 kale shakes a week,” indicates. “A plant is also the peanut, the seeds, a little turmeric”, points, to continue saying that “Each plant will help promote the growth of a different set of bacteria or strains of bacteria.”

The next step of Spector was to see how people responded differently to the same foods.

For this he launched the application ZOE in London and Boston. The goal of this app was to suggest the same foods to a group of 1,000 people so they could examine their microbiomes. Meals were to be eaten at exactly the same time.

“We observed large variations between individuals in how their blood sugar levels responded to various foods,” the scientist pointed out.

Their main finding was noticing that some participants’ blood sugar levels dropped two to four hours after eating. This group was more likely to feel hungry sooner and consume an average of 300 more calories in the remainder of the day.

“We’ve been brainwashed into thinking all calories are the same, but the findings have shattered that concept.” assured.

“The results help explain why some people struggle to lose weight, even on calorie-controlled diets, and highlight the importance of understanding each person’s unique biology when it comes to diet and health,” details the Zoe website.