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Women: Are You Protecting Your Gut-Brain Axis?

Women: Are You Protecting Your Gut-Brain Axis?

A healthy and balanced gut microbiome keeps a woman’s gut-brain axis working smoothly and makes a world of difference to her emotional health. Women: are you protecting your gut-brain axis?

Not so long ago, science debated the existence of the gut-brain axis, the connection that links your gut, emotions and brain.

That changed once modern medicine proved that as much as 90 percent of the serotonin (a chemical that governs your emotions) your body produces comes from your gut and specific bacteria play key roles in making it.

Your ability to generate the amount of serotonin your body that keeps your gut-brain axis working as it should and your emotions on an even keel depends on the healthy diversity of bacteria in your gut.

This balance or imbalance of gut bacteria concerning emotional health was the chief finding in a recent study appearing in Psychological Medicine.

The Study

In the first phase of research, scientists from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard surveyed more than 200 middle-aged women about their feeling over the past 30 days, asking them to report positive and negative emotions along with how well they handled them.

Three months later, women provided stool samples that were analyzed in ways that enabled researchers to find patterns in human health and how their emotions influenced them.

No surprise, women who suppressed their emotions had less diverse gut microbiomes and higher levels of bad bacteria while those who reported happier feelings had lower levels of those specific species.

“This was what you would expect, but it was kind of amazing that we saw it,” says Dr. Laura Kubzansky, a professor in the Chan School’s department of behavioral science at Harvard.

The Solution

There’s a lot a woman can do to give her gut-brain axis a gentle reset in a good direction, starting with making lifestyle changes. For example, eating healthier meals including foods rich in dietary fiber is a great start.

When life gets in the way and you’re on the go, here’s an additional step you should consider: Take a probiotic formulated with multiple strains of lab-tested beneficial bacteria and a prebiotic that feeds the good bacteria in your gut.

If you’re looking for a probiotic that will protect the healthy balance of bacteria in your gut and strengthens the connections in your gut-brain axis, consider the proprietary blend of 10 strains from the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium families plus a proven probiotic (FOS) in each daily dose of EndoMune Advanced Probiotic.

References

Psychological Medicine

Brigham and Women’s Hospital

The Harvard Gazette

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Probiotics + An Antidepressant = Gut-Brain Axis Relief

Mental Health / By @drHoberman

Probiotics + An Antidepressant = Gut-Brain Axis Relief

Are you taking an antidepressant to help you better manage your emotions, but finding that drug you’ve been prescribed isn’t working as well as it should?

That’s not unusual at all given that some 60 percent of patients with a major depressive disorder (MDD) experience some issues with first-line medicines, and about a third of patients continue to have problems after more treatments.

This may be a sign that your gut brain axis — the proven connection that links your brain, intestines and emotions — may need some extra help, especially if you’ve been diagnosed with an MDD.

Scientists at King’s College London came to a similar gut-based conclusion after conducting a pilot study that monitored the mental and physical health of MDD patients appearing in JAMA Psychiatry.

Multi-Strain Probiotics To The Rescue

A small group of 46 adult patients (primarily women ages 18-55) completed a trial that compared taking an antidepressant (mainly an SSRI drug) with a multi-strain probiotic or a placebo every day for eight weeks.

Interestingly, both probiotic and placebo groups experienced improvements in their symptoms, but the probiotic enjoyed even better results from week four to the end of the trial.

“The gut-brain axis is a truly fascinating and rapidly evolving area of microbiome research,” says study author Dr. Viktoiya Nikolova. “The findings of this pilot study are an important step forward in our understanding of the role of probiotics in mood and mental health.”

This isn’t the first time we’ve shared how effective multi-strain probiotics can be in relieving symptoms of depression, but it’s among the first to use them alongside antidepressants.

Interestingly, all but one of the strains of beneficial bacteria contained in EndoMune Advanced Probiotic were ingredients contained in the probiotic used in this study.

So, if you’re struggling with a MMD and are concerned it’s not working as it should, consider giving your gut-brain axis a gentle boost with the help of EndoMune.

Resources

JAMA Psychiatry

King’s College London

Neuroscience News

Nutraingredients Europe

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Man laying in bed with arms behind his head

Support Mental Health With Multi-Strain Probiotics

Mental Health, Probiotics / By @drHoberman

Enhance Mental Health With Multi-Strain Probiotics, Antidepressants

Modern medicine has really warmed up over the years to acknowledging the existence of the gut-brain axis, the vital connection that links your brain, emotions and intestines.

This relationship has become so familiar and accepted, modern medicine has begun to explore how probiotics may become an important tool in support of standard treatments for major depressive disorder (MDD), better known as depression.

That’s important, considering two-thirds of all patients don’t respond well initially to antidepressants, and nearly 30 percent of treatment-resistant patients experience additional symptoms when receiving specialized treatments.

Scientists at the University of Basel cited those downbeat numbers when sharing the very positive results of their study appearing in Translational Psychiatry that showed how multi-strain probiotics can make a real impact of the mental health of patients grappling with depression.

The Gut-Brain Axis Difference

Forty-seven patients completed the trial that compared mental health scores based on taking a multi-strain probiotic or a placebo in addition to their usual treatments for 31 days.

(Four of the eight strains of bacteria in the multi-strain probiotic used in this study are contained in EndoMune Advanced Probiotic, including ones from the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium families.)

Although symptoms of depression decreased among all patients, researchers observed a greater 55 percent improvement among those taking a multi-strain probiotic, not only in mental health scores but maintaining an abundance of good gut bacteria.

What’s more, the beneficial effect of taking a probiotic was observed in a reduction of neural activity in the portion of the brain that influences some motor behaviors and modes of learning known as the putamen.

One caveat to these good positive findings that most would expect: Levels of those health-promoting bacteria dropped four weeks after the end of the study, making scientists wonder if roughly a month was time enough to stabilize a patient’s gut and their gut-brain axis.

Taking a probiotic is a great non-drug solution for treating persistent health problems ranging from depression to irritable bowel syndrome.

The way to get the most out of any probiotic, like EndoMune, is to take it every day, and if you need some tips on taking one, check out our recently updated how-to basics for all age groups and the four good reasons why probiotics make such an important impact on your health.

Resources

Translational Psychiatry

University of Basel

Nutra Ingredients.com

Mayo Clinic

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EndoMune capsules displayed on blue background

Help Ease Your Anxiety with Probiotics

Drug interactions, Mental Health, Probiotics / By Staff Writer

As our country watches the COVID-19 pandemic with apprehension, it’s no surprise that mental health specialists report a sharp increase in the number of anxiety and depression cases. A recent poll taken by the American Psychiatric Association indicates 36% ofAmericans said COVID-19 has made a serious impact on their mental health. If the physical isolation isn’t enough, the pandemic has escalated fears over potential job losses, bankruptcy, acute illness, and death.

Probiotic consumption has been a hot topic for research concerning the gut-brain axis in the past few years. The gut-brain axis (GBA) is the connection between the central nervous system (CNS) and the enteric nervous system (ENS.) That connection links the emotional and cognitive centers of the brain with our body’s intestinal functions. Recent research describes the important role gut microbiota play in these functions.

Probiotics protect against stress

That evidence suggests that probiotics can protect the body against the harmful physical and mental effects of stress. Conversely, it also suggests that probiotics can help regulate mood by keeping the gut microbiome balanced and performing optimally. That means if we want better mood and mental health, we need to take care of our guts.

However, gut bacteria can also be altered by stress, leading to suboptimal gut health. Moreover, other things can reduce the efficiency of our gut function such as antibiotics, intestinal infections, and poor diet – all of which can kill off beneficial or “good” bacteria. A lack of good bacteria in the gut has also been associated with other health problems such as leaky gut, irritable bowel syndrome, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Clearly, this evidence indicates we can’t achieve optimum health unless our guts are maintained at peak efficiency and fortifying our microbiota with probiotics may be a way to both fight and prevent anxiety and mood disorders.

How it works

The bacteria in our gut enhance our resilience to stressful situations by helping seal the gut barrier. When our microbiome is not balanced, its compromised, inefficient gut function can have a negative impact on our overall health (including mental health), due to leakage of hormones and intestinal inflammation.

If the gut lining stays porous for too long, it can allow toxins and toxic bacteria into our body, where some of those toxins can pass through the blood-brain barriers that protect the brain from these types of pathogens.

That’s how a balanced gut microbiome strengthens the gut lining, protects us against leaky gut, and reduces gut inflammation, which in turn plays a role in our mental well-being.

Inflammation also affects the central nervous system and can cause symptoms of depression; but conversely, depression can cause inflammation itself. That’s why having a robust, diverse microbiome is necessary to help control inflammation by strengthening the gut lining, and preventing unwanted toxins from entering the body.

Researchers report that people who suffer from anxiety often have symptoms of gastrointestinal (GI) disorders such as IBS, gas, and diarrhea. These ‘co-occurring disorders’ help cement the conclusions over the importance of the gut-brain axis and its role in many common illnesses.

The link between the gut-brain axis plays a critical role in how healthy we are, and an ever-increasing body of evidence strongly suggests that the microbiota in your gut influences every other aspect of your overall health – including our mental health. Simply put, it seems that now, more than ever, it’s impossible to maintain a healthy lifestyle unless our guts are happy and thriving, and everyone’s first step to better health should be to repair our guts. Consequently, dietary changes and probiotics are some of the methods researchers use to alter the microbiota in patients to help treat anxiety and depression.

Since microbiota has such an important impact on your entire body, it’s not surprising that taking probiotics for your mood doesn’t just benefit our mental health in one way. Probiotics may also help other precursors associated with an increased risk of anxiety:

Helps reduce inflammation, and research suggests that depression may be an inflammatory disease
Increases tryptophan, the happiness hormone, which stimulates natural serotonin production.
Certain probiotic strains, like L. Rhamnosus, help reduce levels of the stress hormone corticosterone.
Some strains of probiotics may possess inherent anti-depressant qualities.

Research on probiotics and the brain-gut connection continues, but the importance of this connection seems clear. Incorporating more probiotic foods in your diet, is a great step to achieving robust overall health. Unfortunately, our fast-paced lifestyles and the ever-present temptations of industrialized food make eating well-balanced, healthy meals hard. The easy answer to that is to help our guts with a probiotic supplement like an EndoMune Probiotic. Try one today – your body and your mental health will thank you.

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Blood pressure cuff making a heart around "probiotics"

How Hypertension and Depression Are Tied to Your Gut

Mental Health / By @drHoberman

Hypertension is one of the common health problems Americans face every day. Slightly more than half of all American adults have their blood pressure under control at any time.

Your gut plays a critical role in your blood pressure. For example, some medicines you may be taking for hypertension may or may not be working properly, depending on the health of your gut.

Medical experts estimate about 20 percent of all patients with high blood pressure don’t respond to treatments, even when using multiple drugs.

Over the past decade, modern medical science is discovering multiple overlaps between symptoms of hypertension and depression. Both health conditions are linked for some people, but not others.

Your unique gut bacteria profile may soon be a way for doctors to determine if hypertension or depression are working together or separately to harm your health, according to the research team at the University of Florida Health.

New forms of hypertension?

Scientists came to this important finding by analyzing and comparing stool samples from more than 100 patients who had depression, hypertension, both conditions or neither.

Rather than looking merely at symptoms however, studying this problem from a unique perspective gave researchers the freedom to see these health problems from a more holistic, gut-health approach.

Each patient group possessed distinct profiles based on the biochemical processes and genes of their gut bacteria. In fact, Dr. Bruce Stevens, a professor of physiology and functional genomics at the University of Florida’s College of Medicine. and his research team identified three new and separate disorders related to these gut bacteria signatures, including depressive-hypertension.

Determining how a patient’s gut bacteria interacts with the rest of his/her body is a critical first step in devising therapies that work better, says Dr. Stevens.

This discovery could also explain why some blood pressure medications and antidepressants with antimicrobial properties may worsen those health problems.

How to treat it

The next phase for Dr. Stevens and his research team is clear: understanding how the gut-brain axis works to influence a myriad of functions from inflammatory centers to blood regulation.

Along with that knowledge will come better tools to treat both depression and hypertension.

Fortunately, we already have one in probiotics, a safe non-drug way that’s been found in other studies to lower your blood pressure and moderate your mood, given nearly 90 percent of your body’s serotonin is produced in the gut.

But not just any generic probiotic will do the trick, given that your gut is populated with a diverse array of bacteria that work very hard in a myriad of ways to keep you healthy.

You may want to consider EndoMune Advanced Probiotic, a product containing 10 strains of beneficial bacteria from the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria families, plus a prebiotic (FOS) that feeds the good bugs in your gut.

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The Gut-Brain Link to Depression and Obesity

Diet, Mental Health / By @drHoberman

It wasn’t long ago that conventional medicine debated the existence of the gut-brain axis, the connection that links your emotions, intestines and brain.

The medical community couldn’t dispute it for long, however, given that about 90 percent of serotonin, a chemical that sends messages from one side of the brain to the other, is produced in the human gut.

Obesity and diabetes are serious conditions that harm many parts of your health, including your gut. (Remember, gut health problems could be a warning sign of type 1 diabetes?)

Eating a high-fat diet, a direct contributor to obesity and diabetes, creates greater emotional problems and direct shifts in the makeup of bacteria in the gut too, according to findings from the Joslin Research Center (affiliated with Harvard Medical School).

In their work with mice, Joslin researchers had long studied the damage done by diabetes, obesity and other metabolic health problems in their work with mice fed high-fat diets.

One variable stood out in their previous research: Obese mice that had been fed high-fat diets showed far more signs of emotional problems (depression, anxiety and obsessive behaviors) than animals fed healthier diets.

For their newest study, researchers took a different approach by giving mice behavioral tests commonly used to screen drugs for depression and anxiety. They learned mice that were fed high-fat diets experienced greater amounts of depression and anxiety.

However, when scientists took steps to change the gut health makeup of obese mice by giving them antibiotics their emotional health improved.

Taking that gut bacteria shift one step further, Joslin research also discovered the gut microbiomes of obese mice triggered emotional problems when they were transplanted in germ-free mice. And other germ-free mice that received gut bacteria from obese mice given antibiotics showed no signs of emotional problems either.

Where the gut-brain link really came into play was when researchers examined parts of the brain that govern metabolism and emotions, according to Dr. C. Ronald Kahn, Chief Academic Officer who leads the Section on Integrative Physiology and Metabolism at Joslin.

Like other tissues, these areas of the brain became insulin-resistant in test animals fed high-fat diets and this resistance was mediated partly by their microbiomes, Dr. Kahn said.

The Joslin team also found alterations in the gut health of mice were linked to the production of some chemicals that send signals across the brain too.

Now, scientists are studying specific populations of bacteria involved in the gut-brain axis that may govern this process, with an eye on creating healthier metabolic profiles in the brain.

Interestingly, Dr. Kahn points out the problems of using antibiotics as “blunt tools that change many bacteria in very dramatic ways.”

“Going forward, we want to get a more sophisticated understanding about which bacteria contribute to insulin resistance in the brain and other tissues. If we could modify those bacteria, either by putting in more beneficial bacteria or reducing the number of harmful bacteria, that might be a way to see improved behavior.”

Fortunately, there’s a growing body of evidence that shows probiotics like EndoMune Advance Probiotic may be a safe and proven tool for treating behavioral issues among mice and humans and provide some extra help to fight obesity too.

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Can Yogurt Treat Depression?

Diet, Mental Health / By @drHoberman

Yogurt is a delicious and nutritional treat people often confuse as a remedy for all sorts of health conditions (often with the sneaky help of science).

But can yogurt treat depression, one of the most pervasive, frustrating and common health problems affecting more than 16 million adults in America annually?

A recent study appearing in Scientific Reports concluded feeding mice a proprietary strain of Lactobacillus reuteri in yogurt made from live cultures was enough on its own to reverse depressive symptoms in stressed out mice.

A team of scientists at the University of Virginia’s School of Medicine came to that finding after studying the gut health of tiny mice and discovering the depletion of Lactobacillus reuteri triggered the onset of depression.

To take it a step further, that loss of Lactobacillus reuteri was responsible for spiking levels of kynurenine (a metabolite in blood) that bring on depressive symptoms. Once mice were fed Lactobacillus reuteri with their food, however, their stress levels returned to nearly normal, scientists said.

This research does represent evidence that the gut-brain axis – the link between your brain, emotions and intestines – is very much a reality, and maintaining a healthy balance among all three is critical for good physical and mental health.

University of Virginia scientists were so pleased with these results on mice, they plan to turn their attention to human subjects, specifically with multiple sclerosis patients who struggle with depression too.

However, one probiotic strain may not be enough to do the trick. Other studies have found probiotics formulated with Bifidobacterium longum may have a similar beneficial effect on treating depression.

What’s more, there’s no guarantees the yogurt you’ll find in a grocery store will contain exactly the right amounts or combinations of beneficial bacteria that make much of a difference on balancing your emotions.

But, there is growing evidence that a probiotic containing multiple strains of beneficial bacteria – think EndoMune Advanced Probiotic — may be a more effective solution for treating depression and a safer one given all of the side effects associated with antidepressants.

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Treating IBS-Related Depression With Probiotics

Digestive Health, Probiotics / By @drHoberman

Most symptoms associated with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) — gas, cramping, diarrhea and constipation — are very uncomfortable, very embarrassing and very painfully obvious.

Considering the pain and discomfort you may be feeling, however, you may not be paying as much attention to one specific symptom — depression — as it really deserves.

Plus, taking drugs like mesalazine may be good for treating some IBS symptoms, but they don’t address the real problem: Restoring a healthy balance of bacteria in the gut.

Not only can taking a probiotic be a safer way to restore and protect that gut bacteria balance, it may also treat the symptoms of depression associated with IBS too, according to a recent study published in Gastroenterology.

Researchers at McMaster University in Canada studied the effect that prescribing a probiotic formulated with a proprietary blend of Bifidobacterium longum (one of the 10 species of beneficial bacteria found in EndoMune Advanced Probiotic) has on treating depression.

Over the course of 10 weeks, scientists monitored the health of 44 patients, half of whom took a probiotic while the rest were given a placebo.

After just six weeks, nearly two-thirds of patients in the probiotic group felt greater relief from their depression based on falling scores based on the standard Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), versus just seven in the placebo group.

More evidence that those falling HADS scores were real: Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging tests that showed changes in various sectors of the brain related to mood control.

Other good things could be taking place behind-the- scenes that moderate your mood levels, thanks to probiotics. For example, as much as 90 percent of your body’s serotonin, a chemical that works as a neurotransmitter in the brain, is produced in the gut.

Taking a probiotic is one important and safe way to protect and enhance the diversity of beneficial bacteria in your gut naturally, without a drug.

Probiotics: A drug-free way to treat Alzheimer’s

Mental Health, Probiotics / By @drHoberman

Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most devastating health problems facing America today. Not only does this mind-robbing condition affect more than 5 million Americans today, with the Baby Boomer generation heading to retirement, that number is expected to triple by 2050.

Although there is no cure for Alzheimer’s, just a handful of FDA-approved drugs relieve symptoms, but only for the short-term. What’s more, they come with an array of side effects, including headaches, nausea, weight loss, diarrhea and constipation.

Fortunately, modern medicine has begun to embrace the gut-brain axis — the connection that links your brain to your intestines and emotions. Over time, probiotics have proven their value as a non-drug tool ideally equipped to maintain that important balance, and treat problems like depression.

One day very soon, neurologists may be using probiotics to treat Alzheimer’s, based on a recent clinical trial featured in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience.

Neurological testing

Over the course of the 12-week, double-blind clinical trial, Iranian researchers split 52 Alzheimer’s patients (between ages 60-95) into two groups. One received 200 milliliters of milk enriched with three strains of Lactobacillus (acidophilus, casei and fermentum) and Bifidobacterium bifidum, while a control group was given milk without beneficial bacteria.

(Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus casei and Bifidobacterium bifidum are three important ingredients of EndoMune Advanced Probiotic.)

At the beginning and end of the trial, blood samples were taken and all patients were given Mini-Mental State Exams (MMSEs) that measured their cognitive ability on specific tasks like remembering dates, copying pictures, counting backwards and naming objects.

No surprise, patients who received the probiotic mixture improved on their previous MMSE results after 12 weeks, while those in the control group had lower scores.

Patients in the probiotic group also benefitted in other measurable ways, with lower levels of trigylcerides, high-sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-CRP) and Very Low Density Lipoproteins (VLDL) as well as drops in two common measures used to gauge insulin resistance and the production of insulin in the pancreas.

“These findings indicate that change in the metabolic adjustments might be a mechanism by which probiotics affect Alzheimer’s and possibly other neurological disorders,” said senior study author Dr. Mahmoud Salami, according to a press release.

Multi-species power

Arguably, the real benefits Alzheimer’s patients received in improved cognitive skills and healthier blood levels may stem from the multiple species of bacteria, not just one.

In fact, it’s possible giving Alzheimer’s patients a multi-species probiotic like EndoMune Advanced Probiotic with 10 proven strains of bacteria every day may have yielded even greater results.

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Beat Depressing Thoughts with Probiotics

Mental Health, Probiotics / By @drHoberman

Reflecting on life’s lessons about a difficult time in your life can be beneficial, and even instructive.

Looking back, however, can become unhealthy if your mind gets stuck ruminating, and replaying the same situation over and over again, causing you to focus more on what you might’ve done rather than how to solve the issue or avoid it.

When taken to an extreme, according to the American Psychological Association, ruminating doesn’t offer new insights at all. Instead, it can feed depression and make it harder for you to shake negativity.

There are lots of strategies you can use to beat the rumination cycle, using cognitive skills you can learn on your own, or with the help of a licensed therapist or a trusted friend.

A new study appearing in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity identified a familiar weapon — multi-species probiotics — which can also be helpful in breaking the depression-rumination cycle too.

Psychologists at the Leiden Institute of Brain and Cognition (located in the Netherlands) tested the effect of probiotics containing proprietary strains of various beneficial bacteria, including Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus lactis, Lactobacillus casei, Bifidobacterium bifidum and Bifidobacterium lactis on 40 healthy patients.

(These five strains represent half of the beneficial bacteria contained in EndoMune Advanced Probiotic.)

Half of the patients received a drink made of lukewarm water or milk containing probiotics or a placebo for four weeks. At the beginning and end of the study, patients completed questionnaires that measured their sensitivity to depression.

Patients who were given the multi-strain probiotic experienced significantly fewer ruminative thoughts, compared to those assigned the placebo.

“Even if preliminary, these results provide the first evidence that the intake of probiotics may help reduce negative thoughts associated with sad mood,” says Dr. Lorenza Colezato, co-researcher of the study in a press release.

“As such, our findings shed an interesting new light on the potential of probiotics to serve as adjuvant or preventive therapy for depression.”

Considering the results of a recent study that identified specific beneficial bacteria in your gut responsible for the production of serotonin, as well as more evidence of the gut-brain axis, these results were not unexpected.

In addition to multiple species of beneficial bacteria, EndoMune Advanced Probiotic and EndoMune Jr. contain no artificial colorings, sugar, dairy products, preservatives or gluten and both are certified kosher.

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