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"My life could have gone in one of two ways," he told the Daily Mail. "Go back into a depression and comfort eat and go back to square one, or use it as motivation to really improve my life. I wasn't going to let something like that destroy everything I had worked for, I would use it to spur me on and I did."

Since then, he's changed his diet, committed to his fitness, and has seen major results: In fact, he's now lost 168 poundsand he isn't finished yet.

"I put everything into my diet and training, and I can honestly say now I've never been happier," he said. "Since then I've found the consistency that I needed so much. Her cheating was a blessing in disguise."

Vaughn completely overhauled his diet by cutting out chips, soda, burgers, and pizza; instead replacing them with water, salads, and regular servings of eggs, fish, and vegetables. But he experienced his first weight-loss breakthrough when, at the recommendation of a friend, he took part in a six-week exercise "boot camp." From there, he joined a nearby gym, where he became a member of a group personal training program. Since then, his heartbreaking story has culminated in a happy, healthy ending.

Your personal weight loss journey doesn't need to begin with romantic misfortune, though. Men's Health's Body Fat Breakthrough program will rock your body in record time. Start your transformation today.

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Man Reveals How He Lost 168 Pounds After His Girlfriend Cheated on Him - Men's Health

bondvit/ShutterstockEven to conscientious eaters, a slice of chocolate cake can be irresistible. Whats baffling is why we sometimes give in to temptation despite our better judgment.

Researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital (MNIH) have found a possible explanation: The second we see delicious-looking food, a hormone in our gut called ghrelin starts sending powerful signals to the brain telling us to eat that cake now.

This finding is one of many in an exploding field of research aimed at uncovering the causes of excess weight. Were closer to recognizing just how complicated obesity is, explains Arya Sharma, MD, professor of medicine at the University of Alberta. The good news, he adds, is that the sooner we unearth what causes us to gain weight and hold on to it, the sooner we can find a cure for obesity, or simply a solution to dropping those extra 10 pounds. (Learn the one habit that helped these six people finally kick those last 10 pounds.)

For now, weight-loss treatments (typically calorie reduction and exercise) must be maintained for lifebut heres how to harness some surprising new discoveries:

mpessaris/ShutterstockUsing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the MNIH researchers studying the gut hormone ghrelin found that it increases the neural responseand, therefore, appetite in regions of the brain responsible for coding the incentive values of food. In other words, when we see food we like, we are exceedingly compelled to eat it, says Alain Dagher, a neurologist at MNIH. Unfortunately, our brains are likely wired to value high-calorie foods, which is important if food is scarce or difficult to obtain, he explains.

One way to counter this is to increase the appeal of low-calorie foods by thinking about them more positively.

Chris-Tefmes/ShutterstockSmall dips in thyroid function are associated with weight gain, according to a study in the March 2008 Archives of Internal Medicine. When this gland in the neck does not secrete enough hormones, it can result in lower metabolic rates (symptoms include fatigue and weight gain).

However, Caroline Fox, MD, an endocrinologist at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, says her research group was surprised to discover that women whose serum thyrotropin (TSH) levels were relatively high, but still within the normal range used by doctors to diagnose thyroid conditions, gained up to four pounds over three and a half years compared to women whose TSH did not increase.

If a patient feels she has gained excess weight or has trouble losing weight despite adherence to a healthy lifestyle, she should talk to her physician, says Fox, who adds that this research is too preliminary to consider tinkering with the current range for medical diagnosis.

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Didecs/ShutterstockResearch shows that exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) at an early stage in life can increase the risk of certain cancers; bisphenol A (BPA) may be one of these chemicals. Now a team at Tufts University has discovered yet another reason to avoid prenatal or perinatal exposure to BPA: It may cause weight gain later in life.

Retha Newbold of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences says the findings in animals may also be true for humans. When a fetus or baby is exposed to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, the bodys set point [the balance between energy in, as calories, and energy burned] is irreversibly altered, she explains.

Of course, EDC exposure is not the only risk factor for obesitydiet and exercise are major playersnor does exposure early in life guarantee weight troubles later. But it does help explain why some people have more difficulty losing weight and keeping it off than others, Newbold adds. For now, she recommends avoiding EDCs where possible, including phthalates (found in some cosmetics and cleaning products) and BPA. That means opting for fresh foods over canned (many of which have a lining that contains BPA), avoiding polycarbonate water bottles and not heating foods in plastic containers.

Teim/ShutterstockAccording to research published in the journal Cell Metabolism, subcutaneous fat, which is found around the hips and bottom, may actually provide some protection against type 2 diabetes. Subcutaneous fat appears to make a substance that is secreted into the blood and improves insulin sensitivity and metabolism, says C. Ronald Kahn, MD, a researcher from the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston.

When it comes to belly fat, University of Western Ontario professor Kaiping Yang reported a startling discovery. The kind of fat cells found in the abdomen produce a hormoneneuropeptide Ythat acts as an appetite stimulant. (Appetite was formerly thought to originate only in the brain). Worse, the hormone stimulates further fat cell production. This research, published in The FASEB Journal, suggests that women who tend to carry weight around their middle may find it harder to lose overall body fat.

And its tough to spot-reduce belly fat with exercise, say certified fitness consultant Scott Tousignant. The best approach to slim down all over is combined aerobic and resistance exercise. When resistance exercises are done properly, they should elevate your heart rate, he says.

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4 Ways to Trick Your Hormones Into Helping You Lose Weight - Reader's Digest

Were constantly confronted by before and after shots. People whove changed their bodies in six weeks or got their pre-baby body back.

But how long does it really take to lose weight? Heres the science behind weight loss.

What to expect

If youve asked your doctor or trainer how long does it take to lose weight? you may as well have asked how long is a piece of string. There are numerous factors that affect peoples weight loss from age, fitness and health status to lifestyle.

That said, a realistic rate of weight loss for most people is around one to two pounds a week. Weight loss can plateau and yo-yo, so there is no designated time period to ditch that extra layer of fat despite the common 12-week challenges.

You need to continually mix it up, keep focused and set achievable short and long-term goals.

Weight loss vs. fat loss

Seeing the scales flash four pounds in a week doesnt necessarily mean all your hard work is paying off. There are three explanations for weight loss: losing body fat, losing water and losing muscle.

With a balanced diet and regular physical activity, youll most likely shed fat and preserve lean muscle tissue (ideal world). However, if youre more focused on your calorie restriction or following the latest fad diet at the expense of exercise, then youll lose all three components, but most likely more muscle and water.

This may appear great on the scales, but the results are never long-lived. Why? If you regain the weight, more fat and less muscle is replaced. Then once you come off the diet your body thinks another famine is coming and works hard to store away whatever energy it can most likely as fat. You are left with a body that jiggles instead of one that is toned.

Age vs. fitness age

If youve noticed losing weight gets tougher with age, youre not wrong. As you get older your body loses muscle mass, which slows your base metabolic rate (the rate at which it burns calories).

But thats not the only age that affects weight loss. Your fitness age the number of years youve been physically active for determines your base level physique and the speed at which you shed pounds.

If youre new to training (or overweight) and start exercising three to four times a week and eating healthily, then you could lose up to four pounds a week. Alternatively, if youve been training three to four times a week and eating correctly for a while, youll probably lose weight at s steadier pace.

Get a grip of your lifestyle

Losing weight can be more complex than just eating healthily and exercising. If youre struggling to shift the scales, consider the role your lifestyle plays. Are you stressed? Not getting enough sleep? Are your friends and family helping you stay on track? Or perhaps you have underlying health issues?

The conclusion

Every body is individual. Not one size fits all. You can train and eat exactly like someone else and have entirely different results.

While most experts would agree that one to two pounds a week is realistic, the truth of the matter is that slow and steady wins the race.

Not the message you really want to hear, I know.

Kathleen Alleaume is a nutritionist, exercise physiologist and author of Whats Eating You?

This article originally appeared on News.com.au

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How long should it REALLY take to lose weight? - Fox News

The UKs diet industry is thriving to say the least. More than half of British adults try to lose weight by controlling their calorie intake each year. Unfortunately, losing weight is not as easy as turning down a biscuit, or opting for salad. And even those who have been successful in their dieting endeavours find it difficult to do.

So why is it that even when we have the best of intentions, dieting is so difficult? Why cant we control those cravings?

Weve all done it: walked past a tasty-looking supermarket stand, or smelled something delicious and immediately started drooling over whatever treat is on display, regardless of calorie content or nutrition. Sensory food cues like these can be difficult to ignore and arent just triggered by taste or smelladvertising or brand logos can tempt us in too.

When we are hungry, the hormone gherlin stimulates the brain, which means that we notice food cues more. Researchers have also found that our brains pay more attention to cues for unhealthy foodsthose which are high in sugar and fatthan healthy foods, when we are hungry. In studies where pictures of high-calorie foods were shown to participants, it was found that the cues elicited anticipatory appetite responses, such as salivation, cravings and a reported desire to eat.

All of this together means that the attention-grabbing properties of high-calorie foods are likely to present a significant challenge for individuals who are attempting to lose weightparticularly if their diet makes them feel hungry.

On a positive note, it may be possible to train ourselves to ignore tempting cues. One study has shown that participants who were taught to ignore high calorie food cues on a computer-based task consumed less snack foods than those who were trained to pay attention to them

Dieting often involves giving up more pleasurable foods in an attempt to reduce calorie intake. But if we are asked to avoid eating a food we enjoy, researchers have found that we will crave itand even have a greater desire to consume the forbidden item than if we had not been deprived.

In another study, frequent consumers of chocolate were asked not to eat any for a week. In this case the participants found images of chocolate and other high-calorie food items more salientthe deprivation had made them want the high calorie foods morethan the chocolate eaters who had not been deprived. In addition, when asked to taste a forbidden food, it has been found that research participants who have been deprived of it will typically consume more calories.

All of this means that even when dieters attempt to avoid foods that are pleasurable, the behavioral and cognitive response to deprivation may inadvertently be creating more temptation.

When trying to lose weight, choices about what to eat and when it should be eaten are usually constrained by the rules of a chosen diet plan. But rigid dieting rules are problematic, as any eating behaviour that does not rely on the physiological signals of hunger increases the risk of overeating.

Another problem with dieting rules is that only a small violationa sneaky slice of cake, for exampleis enough to derail the whole diet. Researchers call this the what-the-hell effectand it has been demonstrated in a number of laboratory experiments. Studies consistently show that dieters who believe they have consumed a high-calorie snackand so have broken the rules of their dietwill consume more calories during a later meal than those who do not think they have violated the rules.

Although in real terms eating a few extra calories is unlikely to have a major impact on a diet, such lapses can have a bigger psychological impact. Dieting failure is likely to trigger negative emotions such as guilt or stress, both of which are known to cause overeating.

So what can be learned from all of this? Diets which require the dieter to follow rigid rules or forbid them from consuming foods they enjoy appear to be problematic, as they paradoxically increase the risk of overeating. Instead, it may be useful for dieters to acknowledge that humans are inherently drawn to high-calorie foods and that these cues present the most temptation if we are hungry.

Rising rates of obesity mean that many more of us are turning to diets to lose weight. However, while there is no perfect diet to help us achieve our health goals, understanding how the brain works, and recognizing the psychological effects of dieting may help us regain control in the face of temptation.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

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To lose weight, you need to understand the psychology of why you crave the wrong things - Quartz

A new study has found something remarkable: the activation of a particular type of immune cell in the brain can, on its own, lead to obesity in mice. This striking result provides the strongest demonstration yet that brain inflammation may be a cause, rather than a consequence, of obesity. It also provides promising leads for new anti-obesity therapies.

The evidence linking brain inflammation to obesity has been building for some time. Consistent overeating causes stress and damage to cells in the body and brain. This damage results in a response from the immune system that has a wide range of effects. Some of these effects help to reduce the problems caused by overeating, but others seem to make things worse. For example, in the hypothalamusthe part of the brain that controls, among other things, eating and activityinflammation causes problems such as leptin resistance that interfere with the regulation of body weight.

Leptin is a hormone that is released by fat cells and provides the brain with information about the amount of energy stored as body fat. Normally, neurons in the hypothalamus that are sensitive to leptin will use this information to regulate eating and activity as needed to maintain body fat within some desired range.

In obesity, however, these neurons become insensitive to leptin. As a result, they no longer trigger the decrease in hunger and increase in energy expenditure that are necessary to lose excess weight. This is why the vast majority of attempts by obese people to lose weight failinflammation causes the brain to fight against it every step of the way.

So brain inflammation clearly plays an important role in sustaining obesity. But could it also be one of the primary causes of obesity in the first place? The onset of brain inflammation coincides with the other changes that take place in the body and brain as a result of overeating and weight gain. But whether brain inflammation actually causes the development of obesity is not yet clear. The results of the new study, however, demonstrate that the activation of a particular type of brain immune cell, microglia, initiates a cascade of events that do indeed lead directly to obesity.

In the study, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and the University of Washington performed experiments on mice. They found that altering the activity of microglia in the hypothalamus allowed them to control the body weight of the mice independent of diet. The researchers began by testing the effects of reducing either the number of microglia or their level of activity. They found that both manipulations cut the weight gain that resulted from putting the mice on high-fat diet in half.

They then tested the effects of increasing the activity of microglia. They found that this manipulation caused obesity even in mice that were on a normal diet. This latter result is particularly surprising. The fact that obesity can be induced through microgliarather than directly through neurons themselvesis an indication of how strongly the brains supporting cells can exert control over its primary functions.

So artificial brain inflammation can cause obesity in mice. Of course, that doesnt mean that natural, diet-induced brain inflammation does cause obesity in humans. But these new results suggest that this idea is worth taking seriously, particularly given that fact that potential solutions to the obesity crisis are in short supply.

This new study alone has already identified several possible targets for anti-obesity drugs. Intriguingly, one of the same drugs that was used in the study to decrease activity in microglia is also being tested in human cancer trials, so initial indications of its effects on body weight should be available soon. But either way, a deeper understanding of the role of brain inflammation will help to clarify the causes of obesity. And hopefully prompt ideas about how it can be avoided in the first place.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

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Weight loss tips: Scientists say dieting could become easier and ... - Quartz

Check out some of the weirdest weight-loss trends through history:

For $190, Helix will send you a DNA kit that requires a small saliva sample be sent back. This will take six weeks to process and in the meantime, you track your food intake and exercise habits with the LoseIt app. Once you receive your results within the Lose It! app, the program will be able to tell you if your habits are on the right track based on your genetic predispositions. They also provide additional resources such as in-depth DNA reports and scientific studies so that users can see the science and data behind their results.

Specifically, the report tracks 16 different genetic markers across the categories of weight loss, nutrition, fitness, and food sensitivities (such as gluten and lactose intolerance). For example, one marker can indicate a gene variant experienced by only 5 percent of the population, which causes those who have itto gain weight if they ingest more than 22 grams of saturated fat a day, says Kevin McCoy, Senior Vice President of Business Development at Lose It!. So if a person tests positive for that trait, the app monitors their saturated fat intake, alerts them when theyre consuming too much, and recommends alternative meals that cut down on saturated fat.

Other genetic markers can tell you if a low-fat diet might help you lose weight, or if you might be especially susceptible to weight gain caused by consuming sugary drinks.

McCoy notes that receiving these results alone wont make someone instantly lose weight. We give you the report, compare it to behavioral data, and prescribe actions, he says. All this is about behavior changes and people need to be motivated. For his part, he believes receiving the information will be highly motivating for those trying to lose weight. But as the program is in beta testing, there isnt any scientific data to back up embodyDNAs effectiveness.

Experts are skeptical of the idea for many reasons, including that lack of data. While obesity can be genetic, most genetic variants only slightly increase your risk of developing obesity, with very few exceptions, says Margrit Urbanek, Ph.D. and Associate Professor of Endocrinology at Northwestern University, who specializes in the genetics of obesity. Genotyping 16 obesity-associated markers as the app proposes will only measure a relatively small set of genes contributing to obesity, she says. So while the results are based in science and fact, they only show one small piece of the genetic puzzle.

Furthermore, she says, were not far along enough in our study of genetic variations to make 100-percent effective recommendations. So even if the app did offer a complete assessment of genetic risks for obesity, the science isnt far enough along to decipher the results properly. While we can hypothesize as to which diet may be most appropriate for a given genetic background, we have no clinical data to back up this speculation, she says.

But the team at Lose It! believes that knowledge, of any kind, is power. Again, different methods work for different people. Although the scientific data may not fully be there, if the results motivate you, thats your prerogative.

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Can A DNA Test Really Help You Lose Weight? - Women's Health

As the years go by, youll start looking back on your early twenties and think, "I had it so easy back then". You could probably get away with going out to eat all the time, sipping soda and skipping the gym without a worry about your waistline. But you cant exactly carry those habits later in life and expect the same results.

You might find yourself wondering why your body is putting on weight when you're not doing anything different? Or why the scale won't budge when you're putting so much effort into being healthy.

The unfortunate answer to these questions is simple: the older you get, the harder it is to lose weight.

There are several reasons for this lamentable phenomenon, including:

Disadvantage #1: Your muscles deteriorate

Even if youre pretty active, most people start losing their muscle and start replacing it with fat starting in their 30s, research suggests. Because fat doesn't use up as many calories as muscle does, your body is now burning less calories throughout the day. As a result, you don't need to eat as much, which slows down your metabolism.

Disadvantage #2: Your metabolism slows down

Your metabolism is in charge of all the chemical and physical processes that continuously happen inside your body it helps to keep you going throughout the day.

"The largest component of your metabolism is your basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is the amount of energy your body uses just to maintain functioning at rest. This surprisingly accounts for 50-70 percent of the energy used each day," says Robbie Clark, dietician and sports nutritionist. Clark says that a BMR typically decreases by one to two percent per decade after you reach the age of 20. It may even decrease up to 10 percent per decade after the age of 45.

While you can't stop this decrease, you can do things to optimize your metabolism (we talk about this down below).

Disadvantage #3: Your hormone levels decline

As you grow older (especially after menopause for women) your levels of sex hormones decrease. This includes estrogen and testosterone. The loss of these hormones compounds your bodys difficulty to lose weight.

All three of these factors sound like a pretty grim fate for anyone trying to lose weight past their twenties but its not a hopeless cause. While deteriorating muscles, slowing metabolisms and decreasing hormones are unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to optimize the body you have.

Combat tool #1: Get enough sleep

Getting that recommended 7-8 hours a night might be low on your list of priorities, but sleep is actually a huge tool for combatting your bodys declining ability to lose weight. Research from a study published in the International Journal of Endocrinology shows that sleep deprivation and sleep disorders may have profound metabolic and cardiovascular implications.

In other words, your sleeping patterns and your metabolism are intricately connected. Your metabolism relies heavily on sleep to keep from slowing down too quickly.

Combat tool #2: Do HIIT workouts

Of course, regularly working out isn't news for someone who wants to get more fit, but certain workouts are particularly beneficial for combatting a slowing metabolism. HIIT, or high-intensity interval training, is a type of exercise that involves repeated short bouts of high-intensity, or burst exercises between longer, low-intensity exercise. A typical HIIT workout could be jogging at a slower, comfortable pace for a couple minutes, sprinting for 20-40 seconds, then repeating the pattern for 20-30 minutes total.

These interval workouts are the best cardio option for boosting your metabolism. HIIT causes your body to burn more calories post workout in comparison to steady state workouts, which might just be the answer for anyone struggling to see results from their steady-state exercises.

Anyone can modify a HIIT workout so it fits your age and physical capability. You can do HIIT workouts while jogging, cycling or even walking.

Combat tool #3: Eat more protein

Protein can have a profound effect on your metabolism. Though both protein and carbohydrates contain four calories per gram, protein forces your body to use more calories during digestion than carbs do. Protein also builds metabolically active muscle and prevents body fat storage.

Just make sure youre not eating more high protein foods in addition to what you normally eat in a day. Instead, replace some of you more unhealthy calories with lean proteins.

Doing these three things will help you combat that slowing metabolism. There is still hope to having the healthy, fit body you want, even while your body ages.

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The older you get, the harder it is to lose weight - here's how to fight it - Connectstatesboro

Even Charlize Theron struggles to lose weight.

The 41-year-old actress is opening up about packing on the pounds for her role in the upcoming film Tully and the effects it had on her after she tried to lose the weight.

RELATED: Charlize Theron Says Her Kids Describe Her Job as Playing Halloween, Takes Foul Shots in a Designer Dress

In a new interview with Variety, the Atomic Blonde star shares that she was looking for a role in a smaller film where she "could lose herself," which led her to reunite with her Young Adult director, Jason Reitman, for Tully. Theron plays a mother of three who gets a night nanny and the two form an unexpected bond. The part required her to gain weight, which she says was "harder for her now than when she was in her 20s."

"It was brutal in every sense," Theron, who previously put on 40 pounds for her Oscar-winning performance in the 2003 film, Monster, expresses. "This time around, I really felt it in my health. The sugar put me in a massive depression. I was sick. I couldnt lose the weight. I called my doctor and I said, 'I think Im dying!' And hes like, 'No, you're 41. Calm down.'"

WATCH: Charlize Theron Seduces Sofia Boutella in NSFW 'Atomic Blonde' Trailer

Theron will next star in Atomic Blonde, where she portrays a bad-ass international spy. During the filming, she had to go through intense training and ended up with bruised ribs, a twisted knee and even underwent extensive dental surgery after she cracked two teeth.

"It happened the first month of training," Theron tells Variety. "I had severe tooth pain, which I never had in my entire life. Having to cut one of the teeth out and root canals, it was tough. You want to be in your best fighting shape, and its hard. I had the removal and I had to put a donor bone in there to heal until I came back, and then I had another surgery to put a metal screw in there."

Watch the killer NSFW Atomic Blonde trailer in the video below. The action-packed film arrives in theaters on July 28.

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Charlize Theron Says She Had a Hard Time Losing Weight After 'Tully' Role: 'It Was Brutal' - Entertainment Tonight

By understanding the interactions of the microbiome with other parts of the body, one day treatments could be developed for a range of illnesses. Pixabay

A universe of organisms living inside you may affect every part of your body, from your brain to your bones, and even your thoughts, feelings and your attempts to lose weight.

This is a universe of trillions of microorganisms or what we biologists call microbiota that live in your gut, the part of your body responsible for digestion of the food you eat and the liquids you drink.

As researchers, we have been looking increasingly into the effect these bacteria have on their hosts body, from obesity to mental illness and heart disease. With obesity, for example, these tiny organisms may play a big role by influencing what foods we crave and how our bodies hold onto fat.

In a recent study of the gut microbiome, we set out to determine whether the microbiota in the gut can be affected not only by our nervous system but also by an unsuspected source our bone marrow.

Our hope is that, by understanding the interactions of the microbiome with other parts of the body, one day treatments could be developed for a range of illnesses.

The gut, which includes your esophagus, stomach, small and large intestines, colon and other parts of your digestive system, is the first line of defense and the largest interface between the host in this case, a person and the outside world.

After birth, the gut is the first point of entry for environmental and dietary influences on human life. Thus, the microbiota in the gut play a crucial role during human growth, as they contribute to development and maintenance of our immune system throughout our lifetime.

While we initially thought of the microbiota as relatively simple organisms, the fact is that they may not be so simple after all. Gut microbiota can be as personal and complex as a fingerprint.

There are more bacteria in your gut alone than cells in your entire body. This vast bacterial universe contains species that combined can have up to 150 times more genes than exist in humans. Research suggests that the bacteria in our gut predates the appearance of humans and that they may have played an important role in evolutionary separation between our ape ancestors and us.

Healthy bacteria actively interact with the host immune system in the gut. They contribute to the barrier between disease-causing microorganisms or infections introduced via ingestion. They also help prepare the host immune system to defend the body. The wrong mix of microbes, on the other hand, can contribute to many digestive, immune and mental health disorders and even obesity.

These tiny organisms work very hard in digestion. They help digest our food and can release nutrients and vitamins essential for our well being, all in exchange for the privilege of existing in a nutritious environment.

Researchers are actively exploring the many facets of this symbiotic relationship. Recent data show a link between gut microbiota diversity and richness and the way we store fat, how we regulate digestion hormones and blood glucose levels, and even what types of food we prefer.

This may also be a reason our eating habits are so difficult to change. Some research suggests that microbiota may generate cravings for foods they specialize in even chocolate or those that will allow them to better compete for resources against other bacteria.

Theres growing evidence of a link between the brain and our microbiota as well. The brain is the equivalent of a computers main processor, regulating all physiological variables, including the immune system, the bodys defense against infection and illness.

All immune cells are born in the bone marrow. From our previous research, we knew that increased bone marrow inflammation, one of many consequences of high blood pressure, was driven by a direct message from the brain. The gut, too, plays an important role in preparing the immune system for battle.

So we wondered: Could the bone marrow immune cells be playing a role in signaling between the brain and the gut? We wanted to find out.

Using a novel experimental mouse model, we replaced the bone marrow that occurs naturally within a mouse with bone marrow cells from a different, genetically modified mouse. This replacement marrow was deficient in a specific molecule called adrenergic receptor beta, which made the bone marrow less responsive to the neural messages from the brain.

In this way we could investigate how the host brain-immune communication will modify gut microbiota.

Indeed, by studying this new mouse model, we determined that our nervous system directed by our brain can modify the composition of gut microbiota by communicating directly with the bone marrow immune cells. The brain, therefore, can change our gut microbiota indirectly by talking to the bone.

Based on our experiments, we observed that fewer inflammatory cells were present in the circulation of mice that received the special bone marrow replacement than in those that didnt. This means there are fewer immune cells able to infiltrate the gut and influence the bacterial environment.

Thus, by suppressing the communication between the brain and the bone marrow, we observed a muted inflammatory response in the gut and a consequent shift toward a healthier, more diverse microbiome.

This appears to be mediated via specific changes in inflammatory genes in the gut. However, this interaction between the host and the gut microbiota is very complex, and much more research is needed to pinpoint the exact mechanisms of their close communication.

This may also be protective against weight gain, due to the very important role that both microbiota and the immune system play in obesity.

This finding may also have implications in immune diseases as well as treatments either resulting in or employing immunosuppression. The latter may affect the gut microbiota, which in turn may cause unwanted effects in the body, including those associated with digestive and mental health conditions.

In the context of cardiovascular disease, this muted inflammatory response appears to be beneficial, as it leads to beneficial lowering of blood pressure in our experimental mice.

Most interestingly, a link between gut microbiota and our mental health has recently become clearer. In particular, some have suggested that gut microbiota influence the stress and anxiety pathways in the brain in a way that can alter mood and behavior both positively and negatively, giving a whole new meaning to the term gut feeling.

This could soon lead to a new class of drugs, called psychobiotics.

Much like the chicken and the egg scenario, however, this complex interplay warrants further investigation to fully understand the consequences (or benefits) of perturbing one single component of the gut microbiota. This understanding is essential if we are to fully harness the power of manipulation of gut microbiota in health and disease, without negative side effects.

Jasenka Zubcevic, Assistant Professor, University of Florida and Christopher Martynuik, Associate Professor of Toxicology, University of Florida

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

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Your Gut May Help You Lose Weight, Fight Depression and Lower Blood Pressure - Observer

(Picture: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire)

If youve ever walked into a KFC and felt like the smell alone wasmaking you gain weight before even putting the first juicy morsel to your lips, then you might have been onto something.

Because new research claims that smelling food before eating it might be linked to weight gain.

Scientists from the University of California, Berkeley, looked at mice to determine how the smell of food affected the way the body processes calories.

Using gene therapy, they cut off the sense of smell in one group of obese rodents and fed them the same amount of grub as another group of mice who could still smell.

And they found that those who couldnt smell lost weight compared to those who could.

The mice who were able to smell doubled in weight and those witha heightened sense of smell put on the most weight of all.

And thats led the researchers to conclude that smelling food can lead the body to store calories rather than burn them off.

This paper is one of the first studies that really shows if we manipulate olfactory inputs we can actually alter how the brain perceives energy balance, and how the brain regulates energy balance, says Cline Riera, ofCedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Theyre hoping that eventually, this kind of theory might help people dealing with eating disorders and those who struggle to lose weight.

Senior author Andrew Dillin,professor of molecular and cell biology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, says that weight gain isnt simply a matter of how many calories go in but also how the calories are perceived by the body.

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If we can validate this in humans, perhaps we can actually make a drug that doesnt interfere with smell but still blocks that metabolic circuitry. That would be amazing.

For that small group of people, you could wipe out their smell for maybe six months and then let the olfactory neurons grow back, after theyve got their metabolic program rewired.

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Smelling food has been linked to weight gain, so the end really is nigh - Metro

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