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Our gut is home to trillions of different microorganisms. These microorganisms sustain themselves using the food we eat and help our digestion process. For example, many food items contain substances called resistant starches. Our digestive system cannot digest these resistant starches, but some bacteria in our gut can. They ferment those types of starches, creating substances called short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) that our bodies can use.
Traditionally, people widely believed that individuals gain weight simply because they are not careful and eat too much. Religious teachings, for example, speak about gluttony, one of the deadly sins symbolizing primarily excessive or overindulgent eating. In this view, people become overweight more or less because their willpower is not strong enough to avoid the temptation to overeat. Similarly, to lose weight, they need to “tough it out” and show sufficient willpower to resist the urge to overeat.
A study published in mSystems found that feeding mice a diet consisting of 10% steamed broccoli sprouts alleviated the symptoms of experimentally induced bowel inflammation These mice gained more weight during the study period The mice showed lower inflammation indicators...
A study in the U.S. indicated that 97% of people practiced snacking in 2006. The same study reported that the share of snack calories in the total daily energy intake stood at 24%. This was a substantial increase compared to findings in previous years. Not only did snacking become more widespread, but the energy density of snacks consumed increased (Piernas & Popkin, 2010). This increase in snacking coincided with the worldwide obesity pandemic (Wong et al., 2022).
Everyone occasionally experiences situations in which they feel low, sad, or not interested in doing anything in particular, having difficulty gathering the motivation to perform daily activities. Similarly, we all feel anxious from time to time, particularly before important events, but the outcome of which is uncertain. However, in some individuals, these feelings become so persistent and frequent that they begin to impair their daily functioning. These are conditions that we refer to as depression (or major depressive disorder) and anxiety disorder.
