Scientists have learned in a new study that "healthy" foods needed to lose weight while on diets such as Atkins, The Zone, and Weight Watchers, might differ based on the way a person's stomach bacteria metabolizes food by breaking it down for energy. The Israeli research discovered that the gut microbes in a person are different, which causes a unique response to the same food.
The study was conducted by researchers at the Weizman Institute of Science in Israel. Their findings were published in the journal Cell.
For one week scientists gave 800 study participants a standard breakfast for one week, which contained 50 grams of carbohydrates, according to The Independent. They wanted to learn how it affected the subjects' blood sugar levels.
Factors such as the volunteers' age and body mass index (BMI) affected their glucose levels after meals. However, the subjects' blood sugar level responses also differed for the same type of food.
For example, one woman's blood sugar levels surged after eating "healthy" tomatoes. Such results discredit the theory that particular foods are always healthy for everyone.
Researchers explained that their findings show why some weight-loss diets work for some people, yet do not help others.
Dr. Eran Elinav was the study's lead scientist. He explained that the study's results are a game-changer in understanding how the nutrition in foods eaten every day affects people's daily lives.
A food's glycemic index (GI) shows its effect on a person's blood sugar level, and is a key element in diet plans such as South Beach and Atkins, according to New Zealand Herald. The new findings show that GI should be based on individual people instead of a fixed value.
Scientists learned that gut bacteria seems to be the biggest factor in causing people's blood sugar levels to respond differently to food. They changed the structure of gut bacteria colonies by tweaking people's diets.
This video explains glycemic index: