Digestive Health Archives

10 Easy Steps to Protect Yourself from the FLU

10 Easy Steps to Protect Yourself for the 2024-25 Flu Season

Digestive Health, Disease / By Staff Writer

Are you prepared for the 2024-25 flu season? These easy-to-follow steps can go a long way to protect you and your loved ones.

As we approach the fall and winter months, health experts are already gearing up for the upcoming flu season. With the lessons learned from previous years, including the “tripledemic” of flu, RSV, and COVID-19 variants, it’s more important than ever to stay vigilant and protect our health.

The good news is that many people are more prepared than ever, scheduling appointments for flu, COVID-19, and RSV vaccinations. However, vaccines alone aren’t enough to fully protect you and your family from respiratory viruses.

Here are 10 easy steps you can take to safeguard your health, with a special focus on maintaining a healthy gut for a robust immune system.

Follow These 10 Steps To Protect Your Family From The Flu

Get vaccinated early: The CDC recommends getting your flu shot by the end of October. Early vaccination is particularly important for the 2024-25 season, as experts predict an earlier onset of flu activity [1].
Maintain social distancing when necessary: While restrictions have eased, it’s still wise to avoid close contact with people who are sick. If you’re feeling under the weather, do your part to protect others by keeping your distance.
Practice proper hand hygiene: Wash your hands often with plain soap and water for at least 20 seconds. When soap and water aren’t available, use a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol content [2].
Keep surfaces clean: Regularly disinfect high-touch surfaces at home and work. The flu virus can survive on hard surfaces for up to 48 hours [3].
Prioritize sleep: Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night. Good sleep is crucial for maintaining a strong immune system and a healthy gut microbiome [4].
Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of water throughout the day. Proper hydration supports your body’s natural defense mechanisms and helps maintain a healthy gut lining [5].
Exercise regularly: Incorporate some form of physical activity into your daily routine. Exercise not only boosts your immune system but also promotes a diverse and healthy gut microbiome [6].
Manage stress: Pay attention to your emotional well-being and stress levels. Chronic stress can negatively impact both your immune system and gut health. Consider practices like meditation or yoga to help manage stress [7].
Eat a gut-friendly diet: Focus on consuming a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fermented foods. A diverse, fiber-rich diet promotes a healthy gut microbiome, which in turn supports your immune system [8].
Consider probiotic supplementation: Taking a high-quality probiotic supplement, especially one containing multiple strains of beneficial bacteria and prebiotics, can help support your gut health and immune function. Products like EndoMune Advanced Probiotic can be particularly beneficial during flu season [9].

The Gut-Immune Connection

It’s crucial to understand that your gut health plays a vital role in your overall immune function. In fact, about 70-80% of your immune system resides in your gut [10]. A healthy, diverse gut microbiome helps train your immune system to distinguish between harmful pathogens and beneficial substances, leading to more effective immune responses.

By following these steps and paying special attention to your gut health, you’re not just avoiding the flu – you’re building a robust defense system against a variety of illnesses. Remember, a healthy gut means a healthier you!

While these steps can significantly reduce your risk of catching the flu, it’s important to consult with your healthcare provider if you experience any flu-like symptoms or have concerns about your health.

Stay healthy, and don’t forget to give your gut the care it deserves this flu season with a EndoMune Probiotic Supplement!

References

[1] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024). “Frequently Asked Influenza (Flu) Questions: 2024-2025 Season.” CDC.gov

[2] World Health Organization. (2024). “Hand Hygiene: Why, How & When?” WHO.int

[3] Greatorex, J. S., et al. (2011). “Survival of Influenza A(H1N1) on Materials Found in Households: Implications for Infection Control.” PLoS One

[4] Besedovsky, L., et al. (2012). “Sleep and immune function.” Pflugers Archiv

[5] Popkin, B. M., et al. (2010). “Water, Hydration and Health.” Nutrition Reviews

[6] Campbell, S. C., & Wisniewski, P. J. (2017). “Exercise is a Novel Promoter of Intestinal Health and Microbial Diversity.” Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews

[7] Madison, A., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K. (2019). “Stress, inflammation, and microbiota.” Psychosomatic Medicine

[8] Valdes, A. M., et al. (2018). “Role of the gut microbiota in nutrition and health.” BMJ

[9] Hao, Q., et al. (2015). “Probiotics for preventing acute upper respiratory tract infections.” Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

[10] Vighi, G., et al. (2008). “Allergy and the gastrointestinal system.” Clinical & Experimental Immunology

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Can You Meditate Your Way to Better Gut Health?

Digestive Health, Healthy Aging, Probiotics / By Staff Writer

Can a meditation practice improve the health of your brain… and your gut?

Meditation is one of the best things you can do to support the health of your mind and body.

Many people use meditation as a drug-free alternative in a myriad of ways, including reducing stress levels, controlling anxiety, improving concentration and supporting better sleep.

No doubt, investing a few minutes each day in a quiet place away from the world to meditate is a peaceful, mindful way to better health.

But, can you meditate your way to better gut health? Let’s travel across the globe to find out…

Let’s meet some Tibetan monks!

A team of Chinese researchers put the powers of meditation to the test with the help of 37 Tibetan Buddhist monks in a study appearing in BMJ Journals: General Psychiatry.

Scientists analyzed stool and blood samples from those monks who had practiced mediation for an average of 19 years, then compared them to samples taken from a control group of 19 residents in neighboring areas.

None of the patients participating in this trial had taken any antibiotics, antifungal drugs or probiotics that would affect their gut health for the previous three months, and both groups were matched for age, diet, blood pressure and heart rate.

You probably won’t be too surprised to learn that the makeup and volume of bacteria in the guts of monks was very different and much healthier, than those found in the control group.

Although the gut health of the monks wasn’t as diverse, their microbiomes were populated in far higher volumes with beneficial bacteria that reduced incidences of depression and promoted better behaviors.

What’s more, meditation was associated with healthier metabolic functions that are critical in protecting the integrity of the gut barrier and better regulating immune functioning.

You don’t need to move to Tibet to protect your gut health!

Despite the good news about the benefits of meditation for your gut health, scientists acknowledged the geography issue with this study.

Tibetan monks live very, very differently than we do. Their diets comprise a more limited range of foods and they live in higher altitudes away from almost all modern distractions.

There’s no doubt that meditation is a great practice that serves as a springboard to cultivate better mental health, but that probably doesn’t mean you can ignore the health of your gut either.

The safest and best way to protect the health and diversity of your gut — whether you meditate or not — is also the simplest, if you take a probiotic formulated with multiple strains of beneficial bacteria like those found in EndoMune Advanced Probiotic.

Resources

BMJ Journals: General Psychiatry

PsyPost

Healthline

Can You Meditate Your Way to Better Gut Health? Read More »

A Probiotic Solution For Long COVID

Digestive Health, Disease, Probiotics / By Staff Writer

Could taking a multi-species probiotic improve symptoms of Long COVID?

We ask this question because the chances are very good that you know someone who has experienced Long COVID.

More than 25 percent of the 134 million Americans who contracted COVID-19 had experienced symptoms of Long COVID, according to Census Bureau data.

Nearly 10 percent of those patients were still struggling with the very same collection of Long COVID symptoms, including brain fog, extreme fatigue, cognitive challenges, insomnia, depression and gastrointestinal problems.

Some of these Long COVID symptoms are connected to the health of your gut and the depletion of beneficial bacteria.

So, is it possible that a probiotic targeted with specific species of bacteria makes a real difference in treating Long COVID symptoms?

The multi-species advantage

Scientists at the Chinese University of Hong Kong addressed this probiotic possibility in a study that tracked the health of 463 patients experiencing Long COVID symptoms for six months.

A group of 232 patients were treated twice daily with a probiotic formulated with three strains of beneficial bacteria from the Bifidobacterium family along with three prebiotic compounds while a second group received a placebo containing starch and a low dose of vitamin C.

(Bifidobacterium longum and Bifidobacterium bifidum are two of the key building block strains of beneficial bacteria contained in EndoMune Advanced Probiotic.)

Patients completed questionnaires that documented 14 symptoms of Long COVID and provided stool samples before the study began and after it ended.

Among those who received probiotics, a majority of them experienced welcome improvements in their Long COVID symptoms in all categories, highlighted by alleviations in memory loss, concentration problems, fatigue and general unwellness, as well as increases in bacterial diversity.

Planning for the future

With changes coming in the CDC pipeline that would further loosen COVID isolation recommendations to match those for flu and RSV, it’s more important than ever to protect your immune health.

One of the best things you can do to keep your immune system running as it should be is to protect the diversity of bacteria in your gut which means taking a probiotic, ideally with multiple strains of beneficial bacteria like EndoMune.

By the way, fortifying your immune health is only one of many benefits you’ll get by taking a probiotic. Check out our 5 Reasons Why You Need a Probiotic article to get a handle on the many reasons why taking a multi-strain probiotic like EndoMune is good for many more health reasons.

Resources

The Lancet Infectious Diseases

A Probiotic Solution For Long COVID Read More »

Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Can Live in Your Body For Years!

Digestive Health, Drug interactions, Probiotics / By Staff Writer

Summary: Did you know some antibiotic-resistant bacteria can live in your body for nearly a decade?

Once upon a time, antibiotics were considered miracle drugs used to treat serious health problems and control the spread of once-fatal diseases.

However, we have learned over time that antibiotics worked almost too well.

Patients and their physicians came to rely on them so often for common health problems — from colds to sinus infections — that they can stop working altogether, creating problems with resistance to common antibiotics like those derived from penicillin or cephalosporin.

When those antibiotic-resistant superbugs take over your body they could hang around for nearly 10 years, based on the findings of a recent study appearing in Nature Communications.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria hang on for a long time!

European researchers tracked the presence of two strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (E. coli and K. pneumoniae) in 73 patients every time they were admitted to their hospital from 2008 to 2018.

More than 350 samples of drug-resistant bacteria were collected during that time. Most of those bacteria were discovered as part of routine hospital screenings, but 12.5 percent were detected because the patient was a suspected carrier of an infection.

Depending on the strain, these resistant bacteria could live in various areas of the human body for nearly five years (K. pneumoniae) or more than nine years (E. coli). But that’s not all…

“These patients not only repeatedly become ill themselves, they also act as a source of infection for other people, a reservoir for these pathogens,” says Dr. Lisandra Aguilar-Bultet, the study’s lead author and a research associate in microbial genomics and bioinformatics at Switzerland’s University Hospital of Basel.

What this means for you

Before you begin to panic, know this: Bacteria like E. Coli live in your intestines, and most strains do little to no harm, according to the Mayo Clinic. But there are some that can do harm, as shown in this study.

The good news: You can do a lot to lessen your need for antibiotics merely by following our simple-to-follow antibiotic protocol.

But there will be times that you will need to take an antibiotic for a health problem.

When you absolutely need to take an antibiotic, protect the healthy balance of bacteria in your gut — the center of your body’s immune system — by taking a probiotic, ideally with multiple strains of beneficial bacteria, like those found in EndoMune Advanced Probiotic.

Taking a probiotic like EndoMune about two hours before your prescribed antibiotic gives those beneficial bacteria a jump on reaching your gut and protecting it and you from harmful superbugs.

References

Nature Communications

University of Basel

LiveScience

Mayo Clinic

Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Can Live in Your Body For Years! Read More »

Your Gut Needs Water

Diet, Digestive Health, Disease, Probiotics / By Staff Writer

Summary: Drinking lots of clean, fresh water is good for the health of your body and your gut.

There’s not a day that goes by without someone somewhere reminding us about the importance of drinking clean, fresh water for our good health.

This certainly makes sense. As much water as you consume every day, your body is using and losing large amounts of it for vital things like breathing, protecting your skin, transporting waste and toxins out of your system and maintaining your muscle strength.

But experts neglect to remind us about why water is so important for maintaining our good gut health. Here’s a few things to think about.

Absorption: Drinking water improves how your body breaks down food and absorbs the nutrients it needs.

Constipation: The presence of water in your digestive tract keeps your stools softer, preventing constipation.

Your diet: Eating foods containing high amounts of water — such as cucumbers, watermelon, oranges and strawberries — can be a great way to keep up with the water your body and gut needs.

Dehydration: In some cases, your body will lose more fluids than you’re taking in when suffering from acute diarrhea and vomiting, another reason to ensure you’re consuming enough water to maintain good health.

Did you know the source of the water you drink may influence the health of your gut too?

The best water for your gut?

An interesting finding from a 2022 study taken from data collected by the American Gut Project on 3,000 patients in the UK and America concluded that the source of the water you drink (tap, well, filtered or bottled) may have some influence on the makeup of your gut microbiome.

Compared to filtered, tap or bottled water, patients who drank well water had greater fecal microbial diversity, considered an important measuring stick of good gut health.

For example, patients who drank well water had lower amounts of bacteria from the Odoribacter family that is associated with gut-related health issues and problems with stool consistency and the Bacteroides family that is linked to a less diverse microbiome.

This direct benefit to the gut sounds great until you look at the numbers away from the study that really matter. For one, only 15 percent of Americans (43 million) have access to well water, according to the EPA.

What’s more, having access to well water is no guarantee that the water is safe to drink. Flooding and other environmental problems can also allow toxic substances to leech into well water, exposing you to high amounts of arsenic, nitrites and chemicals from fertilizers that certainly aren’t safe.

If your main source of drinking water comes from a well, experts recommend that you have it tested once a year to monitor those chemicals.

The fact remains that your water intake goes hand-in-hand with good gut health, but the good news here is that you don’t need access to well water to improve it.

The safest and most effective way to protect the health and diversity of your gut is also the simplest, if you take a probiotic formulated with multiple strains of beneficial bacteria like those found in EndoMune Advanced Probiotic every day with a glass of clean, fresh water.

Resources

Journal of Nutrition

Gut Microbiota For Health

Your Gut Needs Water Read More »

IBS + Fibromyalgia + Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Digestive Health, Disease, Probiotics / By Staff Writer

Summary: The gut-brain link between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is very real.

Several months ago, we discussed the genuine link between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and disruptions in the gut-brain axis.

It’s hard to deny that connection, given that IBS patients experienced greater symptoms of depression and anxiety at rates more than double the norm compared to those without IBS.

Apparently, this same research team from the University of Missouri was just getting started in finding connections with IBS…

The painful link

A second look at data collected from more than 1.2 million IBS patients at 4,000 American hospitals yielded new connections with fibromyalgia, a condition punctuated by widespread and intense musculoskeletal pain, fatigue and cognitive problems, as well as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

IBS patients were five times more likely to experience symptoms of fibromyalgia than those who weren’t dealing with IBS, according to the study appearing in the medical journal Biomedicines. Also, CFS was more prevalent among IBS patients, but not at as high a rate as fibromyalgia.

One interesting quirk in this analysis sheds light on younger people experiencing more gut-related problems than ever before: IBS patients with fibromyalgia or CFS were more likely to be younger compared than others dealing solely with IBS.

Also, the ever-present problems we face with the epidemic of obesity along with hypertension elevated the risks that IBS patients would face CFS or fibromyalgia too.

The why

When asked how fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome could “piggyback” with IBS to create new and painful challenges, scientists pointed to two very familiar culprits that create gut health problems:

Antibiotic use leads to bacterial imbalances in a patient’s microbiome.
Breakdowns in the gut wall allow waste products, toxic substances and other nasties to seep through the intestinal barrier and into your bloodstream, a condition better known as leaky gut.

Fortunately, the same non-drug solution for treating IBS — probiotics — is also a solution that has garnered some success in treating patients with fibromyalgia and CFS, according to a previous report. But not any probiotic will do.

If you really want to protect and improve the health of your gut, you’ll need a probiotic featuring multiple strains of beneficial bacteria that support the healthy microbial diversity of your gut.

Any probiotic you consider should also contain a prebiotic, the unsung heroes of gut health made of carbohydrates and non-digestible plant fibers that feed the good bacteria in your gut.

You can achieve both of your gut-healthy goals with EndoMune Advanced Probiotic, formulated with 10 strains of beneficial bacteria from Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus families, plus the proven probiotic FOS.

Resources

IBS + Fibromyalgia + Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Read More »

Even Partial Breastfeeding Matters

Children’s Health, Digestive Health, Probiotics / By Staff Writer

Summary: Are you a new mom having problems with breastfeeding your newborn? Even partial breastfeeding alongside formula feeding can help your baby’s developing brain.

The benefits of breastfeeding are undeniable. Not only is breastmilk the ideal nutritional source for most infants, there are extra benefits, like reducing your baby’s risks of respiratory allergies and asthma.

Although many new moms face challenges that prevent them from breastfeeding their babies every day, there’s no need to stress out!

Breastfeeding as often as possible in conjunction with formula feeding may still make a healthy difference in your baby’s brain development, according to scientists at Emory University and the University of Colorado.

It’s all in the poop!

Researchers analyzed fecal samples from 112 babies at 1- and 6-months-old in search of beneficial metabolites that influence good brain health as well as problematic chemicals that could be harmful.

(Scientists describe metabolites as small molecules produced by gut bacteria as byproducts from metabolizing food to make their way through the bloodstream that affect a baby’s organs including her/his developing brain.)

Generally, the abundance of metabolites in fecal samples varied greatly depending on how often a baby was breastfed versus formula-fed.

For example, metabolites were far more abundant among formula-fed infants at 1-month (40) than in breast-fed babies (17), but that doesn’t tell the complete story.

Consuming more metabolites did not ensure better results, especially when those children were tested for cognitive, language and motor functioning at age 2.

Based on test scores, researchers identified 14 metabolites from breast milk or formula that were difference-makers.

To the good, the presence of cholesterol in stool samples was linked to breastfeeding and better test scores. However, the presence of cadaverine (a known contaminant created via fermentation) in stool samples from formula-fed babies was associated with poorer cognitive scores.

Everything in moderation

Despite all the evidence that breastfeeding remains the better choice to feed your baby, just 63 percent of all newborns in the U.S. are breastfed exclusively after birth and that number drops to 25 percent by the six-month mark.

If you’re a new mom having problems breastfeeding your baby, Dr. Tanya Alderette of the University of Colorado acknowledges the challenges, but it’s not an all-or-nothing proposition. Just increasing the amount of breastmilk relative to formula may have positive benefits.

However, if you can’t breastfeed your baby as often as you want, give your baby’s gut — the center of their growing immune system — the fuel it needs to thrive with the help of EndoMune Junior Advanced Probiotic Powder, a multi-species probiotic made exclusively for them.

Sprinkling one tiny scoop of EndoMune Junior in your baby’s formula or milk once a day gives your baby’s growing immune system a gentle boost.

(Please be sure to check with your pediatrician before starting your baby on EndoMune or any other probiotic.)

References

npj Metabolic Health and Disease

CU (University of Colorado) Boulder Today

Even Partial Breastfeeding Matters Read More »

Could Probiotics Protect You From Microplastics?

Diet, Digestive Health, Probiotics / By Staff Writer

Summary: Harmful microplastics are everywhere and even in our bodies, but there may be a gut-friendly solution in probiotics.

Not a day goes by that we don’t hear something in the news about the growing challenges of plastics polluting our environment.

The problem has become so severe, a growing body of research has concluded that microplastics (pieces of plastic the size of a sesame seed) are even polluting our own bodies, from our lungs to our blood.

Where these microplastics come from is no surprise, given how much we rely on plastic for everything from tires to disposable water bottles. This passive exposure also infects the foods we grow and even the air we breathe.

The tiny microplastic particles can also be easily absorbed by the gut causing all sorts of problems with leaky gut and the healthy balance of bacteria in your gut, the center of your body’s immune system.

Probiotic protection

Fortunately, we may have a very natural way to protect our bodies and collective gut health from harm with help from probiotics, based on a recent review of studies appearing in Frontiers in Nutrition.

Researchers reviewed studies published from 2015-23 that showed how probiotics may ease inflammation and protect our bodies from some toxicity due to microplastic exposure.

Some studies showed how the beneficial bacteria contained in probiotics could absorb and neutralize heavy metals like mercury and cadmium. At the same time, some strains reduced problems by binding to and degrading phthalates (chemicals used to make plastics more durable) and BPA (a chemical used to produce polycarbonate plastics).

In a more recent study, Chinese scientists found that probiotic strains alleviated inflammation just enough to improve the quality of sperm in mice due to exposure to polystyrene microplastics (used to build appliances, electronics and many car parts).

For the foreseeable future, the persistence of microplastics is here to stay and research is just scraping the surface about the benefits of probiotics.

If you’re asking yourself what you could do to protect your body from the harmful effects of microplastics, it’s worth noting that some of the protective strains of beneficial bacteria examined in these studies are featured in EndoMune Advanced Probiotic.

Resources

Science News

Frontiers in Nutrition

Nutra Ingredients Europe

The Guardian

Environmental Health News

Nutrition Insight

Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety

Could Probiotics Protect You From Microplastics? Read More »

Could Probiotics Protect You From COVID?

Digestive Health, Disease, Probiotics / By Staff Writer

Summary: Probiotics may provide extra protection to unvaccinated people after exposure to COVID to delay infections and reduce their symptoms.

Since the beginning of the COVID era, medical science has acknowledged the connection between this serious respiratory disease and a person’s gut health.

Often, gut dysbiosis — disruptions in the healthy balance of bacteria in your gut — have been the focal point in studies that link your health to COVID.

Not so long ago, we learned how probiotics can do a lot of good to alleviate common symptoms for patients already suffering from Long COVID.

The benefits of probiotics may also extend to people exposed to COVID who haven’t received a vaccine, according to findings recently published in Clinical Nutrition.

Protection before a vaccine

Recognizing how effective probiotics were in relieving respiratory infections, researchers at Duke University and the University of North Carolina launched a study prior to the widespread release of vaccines in 2020 to test the protective effective of probiotics on the unvaccinated who had been exposed to COVID.

Half of the 182 patients took a probiotic containing a proprietary strain of Lactobacillus while the rest received a placebo daily for four weeks.

No surprise, those who took a probiotic were 60 percent less likely to develop COVID symptoms even after exposure to the disease compared to those in the placebo group and were able to protect themselves from contracting COVID for a longer time.

And, probiotic patients had more significant remnants of beneficial bacteria in stool samples taken 70 and 85 days after the initial trial too.

Although the study’s sample size was small (due to the rapid development of vaccines), scientists were very encouraged about the results yet not surprised by them, says Dr. Paul Wischmeyer, co-lead author on the study.

“While limited in sample size, our study lends credence to the notion that our symbiotic microbes can be valuable partners in the fight against COVID-19 and potentially other future pandemic diseases.

So, if you’ve been lax about staying up-to-date on your COVID vaccine schedule — less than 20 percent have received updated vaccines according to the CDC — you may want to consider getting some extra protection by taking a probiotic like EndoMune Advanced Probiotic, formulated with multiple strains of beneficial bacteria and a prebiotic that feeds the beneficial bacteria in your gut.

Advisory note

For the most up-to-date advisories on COVID-19, visit the CDC website at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.

Resources

Clinical Nutrition

Duke Health/News and Media

Washington Post

Could Probiotics Protect You From COVID? Read More »

PTSD, Your Diet and Your Gut

Diet, Digestive Health, Mental Health / By Staff Writer

Summary: The diet you follow and how your gut manages it may determine how you’ll experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

It’s hard to imagine a connection between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the human gut until you recognize how the gut-brain axis links your brain, gut and emotions.

Unfortunately, many of us only notice our gut-brain axis when those connections are disrupted by many factors, including poor diets that often lead to an array of gut-related health problems that drive inflammation.

The good news: Following a gut-healthy Mediterranean diet can do a lot of good to ease or even prevent PTSD-related symptoms, based on findings featured recently in Nature Mental Health.

Healthy eating for mental health

Researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston teamed up on the report that collected data on 191 women from the Nurses’ Health Study.

These women were assigned to three categories: Probable PTSD, trauma exposure but no PTSD and a control group with no trauma exposure. Patients were evaluated on everything from BMI, diet, age, mental health and PTSD symptoms to multiple stool samples.

When researchers compared the diets women consumed to the number of PTSD symptoms they experienced, that’s where the differences in mental health became very apparent.

Women who consumed standard Western diets high in red and processed meats experienced more PTSD challenges while others who followed healthier Mediterranean diets faced fewer symptoms.

What’s more, scientists identified a specific species of gut bacteria — Eubacterium eligens — whose abundance was positively associated with patients who experienced fewer PTSD problems and ate diets rich in the fruits, healthy fats, vegetables and fish that make up the standard Mediterranean diet.

The major takeaway from this study: If you are experiencing mental health challenges, working on your gut-brain axis connection by eating healthier meals with higher amounts of dietary fiber, incorporating more exercise in your daily routine and getting more sleep matters.

When you’re working long days and you don’t have the time to follow your healthier routines, give your gut some extra protection by taking a probiotic, ideally with multiple strains of beneficial bacteria and a prebiotic that feeds the good bugs in your gut, like EndoMune Advanced Probiotic.

References

Nature Mental Health

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

NBC News

Cleveland Clinic

PTSD, Your Diet and Your Gut Read More »