Are the gut bacteria telling us to eat or not to eat? Reviewing the role of gut microbiota in the etiology, disease progression and treatment of eating disorders

Lam et al. (2017) examined the role of gut microbiota in the etiology and progression of eating disorders using the literature for evidence. The theory presented was that the gut bacteria act on the gut-brain axis to alter appetite control and brain function and as the illnesses progress, extreme feeding patterns and psychological stress are potentially fed back to the gut ecosystem, further compromising physiological, cognitive, and social functioning. Lam et al. (2017) emphasizes that an altered gut microbial profile is likely to play a role in the comorbidities of eating disorders given the established causality between dysbiosis and metabolic diseases. The review regards greater comprehension of the gut ecosystem’s function in the pathophysiology of eating disorders to be crucial in enhancing current treatments and developing novel microbiome-based interventions that will benefit patients with eating disorders. [NPID: sugar, processed food, eating disorders, gut bacteria, gut-brain axis, appetite control, stress, gut microbial]

Year: 2017

Reference: Lam, Y. Y., Maguire, S., Palacios, T., & Caterson, I. D. (2017). Are the Gut Bacteria Telling Us to Eat or Not to Eat? Reviewing the Role of Gut Microbiota in the Etiology, Disease Progression and Treatment of Eating Disorders. Nutrients, 9(6), 602. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9060602