Eat Flax Seeds to Improve Your Health and Reduce Obesity – The Daily Siasat

New York: In addition to improving the health of your heart, flaxseed intake can also alter gut microbiota, boost metabolic health and protect against diet-induced obesity.

Flax seed is a high fiber plant that has been proven to improve cholesterol levels and inflammation of the colon. However, little research has been done on the effects of flax fiber on the gut microbiota.

In the mice study, those who received flaxseed supplements were more physically active and had less weight gain than those in the other high-fat groups.

They also had better control of blood sugar and levels of beneficial fatty acids.

The breakdown of dietary fiber in the intestine – a process called fermentation – can produce favorable changes in the digestive system.

It can increase beneficial fatty acids, which can reduce the production of adipose tissue in the body and improve immune function, said the researchers, in the study published in the American Journal of Physiology: Endocrinology and metabolism.

"Our data suggest that flax fiber supplementation affects host metabolism by increasing energy expenditure and reducing obesity, as well as improving glucose tolerance," Fredrik said. Backhed from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.

For the study, the team studied mice fed four different diets for 12 weeks.

The high-fat group had fewer bacteria badociated with improved metabolic health, lower levels of beneficial fatty acids and more of an obesity-related bacterium compared to other groups.

Bacteria levels in the cellulose and flaxseed groups returned to healthier levels compared to the high-fat group.

The team also found evidence that the bacteria in the bacteria were fermenting the thick, sticky layer of the flax shell.

The bacteria that perform the fermentation then produce more beneficial fatty acids.

"Future research should aim to understand the relative contribution of different microbes and to define the underlying mechanisms of how flax fibers affect the host's metabolism," the researchers said.

Source: IANS