From Mouth to Belly

Scientists Discover Relationship Between Oral Bacteria and Obesity

It seems there may be more reasons to visit your dentist than just your teeth. We have recently heard that bacteria in the mouth may contribute to heart disease, but researchers at the International Associate of Dental Research have completed a study that shows a bacteria present in obese women, that was not present in normal weight women. This may well be one of the most important breakthroughs in the history of the study of obesity. Could it be the bacteria creates a substance for its survival that makes the "host" hungry? This is one aspect of the study still unknown, but further research may hold the answers.

The bacteria has a name: Selenomonas Noxia

Life Extension Foundation in its Daily News reported on this study and remarked:

To investigate this possibility, the study's researchers J.M. Goodson, D. Groppo, S. Halem and E. Carpino measured salivary bacterial populations of overweight women. Saliva was collected from 313 women with a body mass index between 27 and 32, and bacterial populations were measured by DNA probe analysis. Levels in this group were compared with data from a population of 232 healthy individuals from periodontal disease studies. The median percentage difference of seven of the 40 bacterial species measured was greater than 2 percent in the saliva of overweight women. Classification tree analysis of salivary microbiological composition revealed that 98.4 percent of the overweight women could be identified by the presence of a single bacterial species (Selenomonas noxia) at levels greater than 1.05 percent of the total salivary bacteria. Analysis of these data suggests that the composition of salivary bacteria changes in overweight women.

It seems likely that these bacterial species could serve as biological indicators of a developing overweight condition. Of even greater interest, and the subject of future research, is the possibility that oral bacteria may participate in the pathology that leads to obesity.

Life Extension Foundation has the full report.

Now, I'm running off to brush my teeth!

Have a wonderful weekend!
Dianna