For whom is OMNi-LOGiC® APPLE PECTIN suitable?
Our intestinal bacteria perform numerous tasks, including food digestion. All our intestinal bacteria can be divided into two major groups, known as Bacteroides and Firmicutes. When the bowel flora is healthy, these two groups are present in an optimum ratio of 1 : 1, which means that the bowel contains approximately the same quantity of each.
However, overweight individuals often have an imbalance in their intestinal flora with a marked predominance of the Firmicutes group of bacteria. When this happens, the ratio can shift up to 2,000 : 1. So, the bowel then contains 2,000 times more Firmicutes than Bacteroidetes!
Firmicutes have the special property of being able to break down food constituents that humans are actually unable to digest (known as fibre and complex carbohydrates). This creates a large quantity of easily digested carbohydrates in the bowel – much more than in a bowel with an optimum bacterial ratio – and these carbohydrates are absorbed in addition to the calories consumed. This “hidden” intake can easily add up to 200 more calories – and that’s every day!
Added to this is the fact that the shift in bacterial ratio – towards Firmicutes – can become self-perpetuating: the greater the quantity of carbohydrates consumed (e.g. sugar, pasta, etc.), the better the Firmicutes feel and the more easily they are able to multiply in the bowel – a vicious circle has begun.
