GENOMICS | IMMUNOLOGY
CAN YOU LOSE WEIGHT EATING CAKE? OLA KOŁODZIEJCZYK,PHD
Weizmann Institute of Science | Israel
Our bodies are colonized by microorganisms, including more than 1000 species of bacteria. The interactions between this microbial ecosystem and the human host is vital for health and it’s role was already implicated in several autoimmune disorders such as allergies, as well as atherosclerosis or Parkinson’s disease. I aim to understand the relationship between gastrointestinal tract microbiome harbors one of the highest densities of microorganisms and diseases such as obesity or diabetes. In this study for a month we constantly measured blood glucose of people eating different foods and we characterised the composition of bacteria in the gut using bacterial DNA sequencing. The current method to predict amount of blood glucose is to estimate glycemic index (GI). Glycemic index reflects amount of sugar in 100g of particular food, so cookies have high GI, while broccoli low GI. People with metabolic diseases, most importantly with diabetes and obesity, are prescribed diets including many low GI foods and avoiding high GI foods. Interestingly, we observe that GI is not a good measure to predict blood sugar. Some participants had high blood sugar in response to some low GI foods, while moderate response to high GI foods. How we respond to food depends on digestion and absorption of nutrients from food. Food is digested by enzymes secreted by human glands and the intestine, but also by bacteria in the gut. Each species of bacteria has different enzymes, so the composition and abundance of bacteria affects the digestion process. Moreover, bacteria modulate functioning of human cells by many different mechanisms. By measuring composition of gut microbiome and using computational methods we are able to predict which foods are going to lead to peak in blood glucose and design personalised diet. Such diet will include some of commonly known as „unhealthy” foods such as ice cream or pizza, leading to higher compliance to diet and weight loss.