We generally assume or are told that consuming carbohydrates & fats can lead to weight gain & protein is a safe bet when it comes to weight loss. Besides, those aspiring to build lean muscles are also advised to increase the protein 2 to 5 times more than dietary recommendations.
So does having excess protein negatively impact our health? Can it push up towards chronic diseases? We are going to discuss this in detail today.
What we eat has a significant impact on our gut composition & genes expression. As such it directly impacts how our gut metabolises the food. Before we go deep dive into this, it is important to know that the human body is a very complex organism with around 40 trillion micro-organisms( bacteria, fungi, yeast, mould etcc) living inside our body. Epigenetically we are only 1% human. Our body has around 20,000 to 25000 human genes & around 2 to 20 million foreign genes( genes of microorganisms). To maintain a healthy regime, it is obvious that we have to feed our gut healthy. There is nothing called healthy food or anti-inflammatory food. A food healthy for one may not be healthy for another. A food healthy for you now may not be healthy 3 months later. Why is the entire gut mechanism so complex? What we eat changes the entire gut composition. If we consume something which our gut cannot metabolise, it will result in release of Lipopolysaccharides(LPS) or toxins in the bloodstream which can lead to chronic inflammation & ultimately chronic diseases. Now since you have a background of how our gut holds the key to a healthy body, let us discuss in detail why excess consumption of protein may result in chronic inflammation.
With so many diets around – high fat, low fat, high protein, etc… We rely on guesswork when it comes to an appropriate diet strategy. The way our gut microbiota metabolises fat, & protein impacts our overall health such as the immune system( given that 70% of the immune system is along our gut lining), genes expression & risk of attracting chronic disease. There are certain bacterias in our gut that ferment non digestible fibres to produce short chain fatty acids which have numerous benefits. However, less talked about is how these bacteria ferment proteins.
Long-term dietary patterns, such as increased consumption of protein or decreased consumption of fiber, can change the composition of the microbiota & thereby modify which fermentation pathways are abundant. We will discuss this in detail in following paragraphs
When we ingest food, enzymes present in our mouth, stomach & small intestine breakdown protein into small components called amino acids. Some of the bacteria in the small intestine absorb amino acids not used by our body as an energy source. Then the remaining( as discussed above) are passed on to the large intestine where some bacteria ferment protein & release metabolites such as branched chain amino acids. These metabolites are responsible for impacting metabolism, immune system, nervous system & even impact our genes expression.
The fate of amino acids depends upon our dietary sources, specifically fibre intake. A low fibre intake can result in increased proteolytic fermentation which can ultimately change the microbiota composition.This shift can produce harmful metabolites which can result in release of ammonia, sulphur dioxide & p-Cresol( depending upon our gut bacteria composition). Therefore,these branched chain amino acids can be linked to various metabolic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, increase inflammatory response & tissue permeability
It is important to note that not all bacterial fermentation have detrimental effects. For instance, Indole which comes from fermentation of protein tryptophan, an essential amino acid, protects against autoimmune diseases.
On the flip side, having more Bacteroidetes as compared to Firmicutes( which is actually good from a weight loss/weight management perspective) has both positive & negative impacts. As a member polysaccharide-degrading consortia, they contribute to the release of energy from dietary fiber and starch, and they are likely to be a major source of propionate; however, they are also involved in the release of toxic products from protein breakdown. Members of this group have some activities that may help to suppress inflammation, but they also have the potential to promote inflammation and some are known to be opportunistic pathogens.
This all depends upon your dietary fibre intake as explained above.
How can you determine that essential amino acids you consumed would be used towards bacterial growth & not released as toxins. Understanding your gut bacteria is the solution to this. Sign up for our Gut Microbiome Testing here: to understand the composition of our gut bacteria & which group of bacteria are making the amino acid work against you.
