The bugs in your gut could make you weak in the knees

[Northerner]

Bacteria in the gut, known as the gut microbiome, could be the culprit behind arthritis and joint pain that plagues people who are obese, according to a new study published today in JCI Insight.

Osteoarthritis, a common side effect of obesity, is the greatest cause of disability in the US, affecting 31 million people. Sometimes called "wear and tear" arthritis, osteoarthritis in people who are obese was long assumed to simply be a consequence of undue stress on joints. But researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center provide the first evidence that bacteria in the gut -- governed by diet -- could be the key driving force behind osteoarthritis.

The scientists found that obese mice had more harmful bacteria in their guts compared to lean mice, which caused inflammation throughout their bodies, leading to very rapid joint deterioration. While a common prebiotic supplement did not help the mice shed weight, it completely reversed other symptoms, making the guts and joints of obese mice indistinguishable from lean mice.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180419100135.htm

Another recommendation for an excellent book about the gut, and its influence on our diet and health:
'Gut' by Giulia Enders 🙂

 

[Lanny]

Thousands of years of Chinese culture has always associated certain foods that aggravate inflammatory conditions like arthritis. I've grown up with a whole list of foods that shouldn't be eaten when you have certain conditions, or taking expensive & time consuming to prepare Chinese herbal medicines, from my mum!

Being born & bred here, in the UK, I never really understood or paid much attention to my mum's food philosophies & Chinese medicine until recent years. When I'm finding, maybe due to advancing years, that they are actually relevant & I read news stories about new scientific research that supports these ancient beliefs in food!

A recent one found that cutting down or out inflammatory foods reduced the severity of symptoms in arthritic conditions: diary products like cheese & foods high in vitamin A.

 

[mikeyB]

Humans are not mice. Mice have four legs to carry their weight, humans have two. Of course being obese puts a strain on the lower limbs, particularly knees and hips. It’s long been known that weight loss will ease the discomfort, so I think giving folk an “out” by blaming their biome or altering it before getting them to shed weight is a bit ludicrous.

I got the dreaded error 404 clicking on the link, but I bet it was Americans again, looking for any excuse not to get thinner.

 

[Drummer]

A few weeks ago I bought a bottle of groundnut oil after only using olive oil or animal fats - before I had used half of it I was having dreadful pains in my hips and knees and to a lesser extent my hands.
Luckily it was a small bottle, and I also bought a fresh supply of meat - and a week after the bottle was empty I found my pain decreasing, and in another week or so it was gone.
As my diet is quite fixed I could detect that seed oil was the only change I had made - yet another reason to avoid it. Omega 6 and inflammatory effects too. Sheesh.
I did not increase - nor, for that matter, decrease, my weight over that time.

 

[Contused]

I got the dreaded error 404 clicking on the link, but I bet it was Americans again, looking for any excuse not to get thinner.

Try this: The bugs in your gut could make you weak in the knees

 

[mikeyB]

Thanks for that Contused. Confirmed my suspicions - Americans again, looking for any new treatment angle that avoids the obvious. For sure, it may well help osteoarthritis, but losing weight will help more.