The REAL Reason 80% of Diets Fail
If you regularly find yourself fighting the urge to have just a few more chips, go back for seconds, or forage through the fridge for a midnight snack, you’re not alone.
And we’ve been conditioned to feel terrible about ourselves… that it’s just a matter of willpower alone.
But that isn’t true.
Food addiction affects millions of Americans, yet most treatments focus on changing the behavior rather than addressing what’s driving it.
You see, food addiction isn’t a moral failing. It’s a medical condition with a cause—and a solution.
And now, new research has identified exactly what’s hijacking your brain to make you overeat.
If you’ve ever dieted, then you know that your chances of success aren’t good.
Losing the weight is one thing, but keeping it off is another.
Statistically, more than half of the weight that is lost is regained within two years. And 80 percent is regained by the fifth year.
Dieting can feel like fighting an internal enemy—and you are.
Groundbreaking research published in Gut reveals that specific bacterial imbalances drive food addiction in both mice and humans.
Those showing signs of food addiction had significantly higher levels of “bad bugs,” specifically Proteobacteria bacteria, and lower levels of beneficial bacteria, including Actinobacteria (particularly Blautia).
But here’s where it gets interesting.
When they increased Blautia levels, it directly reduced the addictive behaviors driven by the brain.
In other words, your gut bacteria literally hijack your brain to make you overeat—and more importantly, improving your microbiome can help you conquer the cravings.
In fact, this study demonstrates that gut bacteria function like popular—and risky—GLP-1 drugs. Both ultimately influence appetite-regulating signals in the brain. And both can help dial down food cravings.
But while the GLP-1 drugs are synthetic versions of your body’s natural GLP-1, beneficial gut bacteria cause your body to release more of its own.
It’s like having a built-in pharmacy in your gut.
To naturally support higher levels of Blautia, eat more high-fiber foods, such as oats, beans, lentils, and peas, as well as foods rich in resistant starch, like refrigerated potatoes and green bananas.
Just as importantly, be sure to avoid ultra-processed foods because they can suppress Blautia.
While you can’t supplement directly with Blautia, supplementing with prebiotics (food that feeds gut bacteria) can increase Blautia in the gut.
You’re not alone in your battle against food addiction—and your lack of willpower is not to blame for your inability to lose weight. But you have an entire army in your gut waiting to be activated to fight in your favor.
P.S. Why your “healthy” meals could stall weight loss.
View Sources
Samulėnaitė S, García-Blanco A, Mayneris-Perxachs J, Domingo-Rodríguez L, et al., Gut microbiota signatures of vulnerability to food addiction in mice and humans. Gut. 2024 Oct 7;73(11):1799-1815. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2023-331445. PMID: 38926079; PMCID: PMC11503113
