Blockbuster weight loss drug Ozempic has become a global sensation. Now scientists may have identified a way to naturally regulate blood sugar levels and sugar cravings that works like drugs like Ozempic.
A team of researchers led by a team at Jiangnan University in China have shown they can “orchestrate the secretion of glucagon-like peptide-1” by increasing the abundance of this one gut microbe in diabetic mice.
“A growing body of research has revealed that our cravings for dietary components originate from signals sent from the gut, a key organ in transmitting dietary preferences. However, which genes, gut flora, and metabolites in the gut microenvironment are involved in the regulation of sugar preference is currently unclear,” explain the authors as quoted by Science Alert.
The study maintains that gut microbes like Bacteroides vulgatus and their metabolites may help shape a person’s sweet tooth. The team of scientists found that when mice were treated with a metabolite of B. vulgatus, it boosted GLP-1 secretion, which then also triggered the secretion of FGF21. Following this, they observed that this meant more blood sugar control and fewer sugar cravings in mice.
Whether the same will extend to humans remains to be seen, however, the authors claim their study “provides a strategy for diabetes prevention.”
The findings of the study was published in Nature Microbiology.