Over the years I have seen many patients with anxiety, brain mist and depression. Most were overpowered with recipes such as Prozac, Lexapro or Zoloft long before they came to me. In general, these patients had only experienced minor improvements or improvements that did not last. None of them has paid attention to their microbiome.
The aforementioned medicines all fall into a category of generally prescribed antidepressants known as selective serotonin re -admission inhibitors or SSRIs. Most SSRIs lose their effectiveness over time, which means that psychiatrists add other medicines to the mix, including antipsychotics (such as Abilify) or other “cocktail” drugs. These drugs often cause weight gain, low libido and slowness, making patients feel worse.
How does your intestines influence your mental health?
However, there is a simple, natural and non-pharmacological solution for this mood and brain disorders and it is located in the intestine. I often surprise my patients by asking them: “How is your digestion? Any gas, bloated feeling, nausea, intestinal rules?” Their reactions vary from loud laughter to curiosity or disbelief.
Problems in the brain often come from the intestine and in particular in the microbiome; The community of trillion bacteria that live in the intestines and elsewhere in the body. Even if there are no digestive symptoms, the microbiome can be out of balance, often lead to disastrous consequences for our physical, mental and emotional health.
Although we are used to considering bacteria as dangerous, they are actually exactly the opposite: bacteria are essential for our health and, indeed, for our lives. Of course, some bacteria are dangerous, just as some are neutral. But the vast majority is favorable. And because we have evolved together with them, our bodies are literally unable to function without them. Microbes enable us to digest our food, support our immune system and to process thought and emotion. They are an integral part of our health and well -being. A balanced microbiome means that you can clearly think, can remember and carefully focus. It also creates a calm, balanced mood with a lot of emotional reserve for processing stress. An unbalanced microbiome, on the other hand, often leads to brain fog, fear and depression the ailments that treat so many doctors with medicines.
The intestine, microbiome and brain: a powerful triangle
Some of the most exciting research in recent years shows remarkable connections between the intestine, microbiome and brain. The microscopic beings that live in our intestine lining produce a number of biochemical reactions that have an in -depth effect on both our brain chemistry and the brain cells themselves.
An unbalanced microbiome activates the immune system, which borders on the microbiome in the intestinal wall. Microbial imbalance also often erodes the intestinal wall and leads to poor intestinal function. The entire process results in the intestinal permeability “aka leaking intestine” a process that partially consumed food through the intestinal wall and in the bloodstream. The immune system does not recognize food in this form, so it remains alert, which creates a constant, low -quality immune response. This is known as chronic inflammation and it can lead to a number of chronic diseases, including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, car -immune disorders and cancer.
In the meantime, the excessive immune response also influences the brain through the specialized immune cells of the microglia found in the brain. In a healthy condition, the microglia look for damaged neurons and infections and clear them from the brain.
But when the microbiome is unbalanced, the Microglia cytokines, inflammatory messengers, produce that can seriously damage the brain. As a result, brain function is changed. Anxiety, depression and brain fog are the result.
You can considerably turn this situation with the use of probiotics; Pills, powders or capsules that contain billions of healthy bacteria. Probiotics help restore the balance in your microbiome while reducing inflammation by your body and brain; They are an important part of my treatment of depressive, anxious or “foggy” patients. New research shows that probiotics increase the level of IL-10 of your brain, an anti-inflammatory cytokine that helps combat the inflammatory type to protect and support your brain.
Another supplement that fights depression is Butyraat, a kind of acid produced in the intestine. A recent article in Behavioral pharmacology Discovered that butyraat can be very useful with the medication depression. I prescribed Butyraat for many of my patients, while at the same time I worked to re -balance their microbiome, so that ultimately the healthy and restored microbiome could produce its own Butyraat.
Published in a placebo-controlled, double-blind study of 2013 in the magazine GastroenterologyResearchers saw the effect of probiotics on brain function. They gave the female participants a fermented milk drink three times a day; Some women just got the drink, while others had supplemented drinks with extra probiotics. When the women’s brains were examined through MRI, the probiotic group showed changes in the middle brain area, the area involved in emotional processing.
Bacteria and brain chemistry
The microbiome influences the brain, but our biochemistry is so complex that we just start discovering some of the many types of interaction between belly drills. The microbiome can relieve depression and fear in four important ways:
- Healthy bacteria produce important neurotransmitters, the biochemicals that express a mood. Serotonin, which creates a feeling of optimism, trust and well -being, is produced by intestinal bacteria. This also applies to gamma-aminoboteric acid (GABA), which creates a calming feeling of calmness.
- Bacteria produce a number of biochemicals that improve brain function, mood and mental vitality.
- Microbes send messages to the endocrine system, which support the HPA axis (hypothalamus, pituitary gland and adrenal glands). This in turn modulates the production of the body of cortisol and stress hormones, which prevents fear and depression.
- A healthy microbiome activates the immune system to send messages to the brain and instructing to reduce anxiety and depression.
Individual studies reveal the powerful connection between mood and microbiome. In 2007, for example, Nature an article published about Lactobacillus AcidophilusA kind of bacteria found in Yogurt, Kefir (fermented milk) and many other fermented foods. This common microbe stimulates the opioid and cannabinoid receptors of the brain that are stimulated the same receptors that are stimulated by opiates (painkillers, heroin and other drugs) and cannabis. So the next time you want a natural high, reach to the yogurt or better yet, the sauerkraut!
Two other friendly bacteria: Lactobacillus Helveticus And Bifidobacterium Longum It has been shown to lower the stress hormone cortisol, while fear is also reduced. In a recent double-blind, placebo-controlled random study, these two bacteria were given to patients for 30 days. Patients reported that their state of mind had improved by the power of bacteria.
While fermented foods feed your healthy bacteria, a diet with a high refined carbohydrates supports the unhealthy nature. This diet has the potential to produce LPS, a connection that stalls the microglia, in addition to other adverse effects. And inflamed microglia, as we have seen, create brain fog, fear and depression.
Microbiome Medicine: Psychiatries New Frontier
As a doctor who has treated many patients who struggle with depression, fear and brain fog, I believe that psychotropic medicines and antidepressants are not the answer. Most antidepressants are blunt instruments that we do not know exactly how they will influence us, and they often produce a number of unwanted side effects.
The microbiome, on the other hand, is a delicate, complex set of tools that works to produce a series of benefits. It seems to take advantage of its intimate knowledge of our biology, neurology, immunology and genetics, as well as their stunning mutual connections, our own natural antidepressants, as long as we nourish and support it.
Probiotics are a way to support the microbiome, and I trust it heavily. But they are not enough. The microbiome diet An extensive approach to food is crucial for feeding the friendly bacteria and starving the unfriendly.
Prebiotics are also useful. While probiotics are real bacteria, prebiotics are the food and supplements that feed friendly bacteria. I tell my patients that you can store a lake with new fish, or you can clean it up more and feed the existing fish. In most cases it is useful to do both!
Today’s medical environment fails so many people who suffer from brain fog, fear and depression. However, microbiia medicine gives us the opportunity to offer hope millions by opening a new border and the result can be a whole new world of brain health.
Eight extra ways to support your microbiome:
- Be as careful as possible about avoiding antibiotics; Sometimes they are needed, but they always disrupt the microbiome. If you have to use them, make sure you take probiotics at the same time.
- Ask your doctor about stopping your proton pump inhibitor, which reduces microbial diversity; Explore natural alternatives instead.
- Ask your doctor about the stopping of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines (NSAIDs), such as aspirin or motorcycle; Explore natural alternatives instead.
- Eat as much as possible organic; Industrial chemicals are not good for the microbiome.
- Limit the meat consumption, which destroys many healthy bacteria. Instead, eat many fiber vegetables that will feed the healthy bacteria.
- Eat healthy fats to support intestinal and microbial health.
- Avoid concentrated fructose, in particular high-fructose corn syrup, which is terrible for your microbiome.
- Get a bit dirty! If you play in the dirt or eat unwashed products, only organic, you of course show your intestines to a number of extra friendly microbes that make your microbiome healthier and more diverse.