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Protecting your gut-brain axis with probiotics

Do you realize how strong the connection between your brain and intestines, which is better known as the gut-brain axis, really is?

For example, you may feel that connection painfully or positively when you’re feeling anxious about an event out of your control, experiencing a fender-bender, taking a pop test, going on a first date or making an important presentation at your job.

The physical feelings you’re experiencing in your gut are the direct result of your brain releasing chemicals traveling through the bloodstream or the major nerve pathways. Those messages could be painful (no second date) or positive (you aced the presentation) depending on how your individual gut-brain axis reacts to the outcome.

Some health experts believe the dysfunction of the gut-brain axis may explain several health problems, ranging from fatigue and brain fog to something as simple as toenail fungus.

One of the best and simplest ways to maintain a healthy, balanced gut-brain axis—taking a multi-species probiotic—is at the heart of a recent University of Michigan study about the connection between stress and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) on mice.

Researchers discovered mice produced chemicals called inflammasomes to maintain good gut health. However, when stressed, a corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) produced by mice blocked the benefits of those inflammasomes, while changing the composition of their guts, leading to intestinal inflammation. The good news: Mice pretreated with probiotics experienced reduced intestinal inflammation, by reversing the inhibition of inflammasomes.

So, how do these positive results affect folks dealing with IBS? Although researchers say that stress doesn’t cause IBS, it alters gut-brain interactions that lead to diarrhea, problems with appetite and chronic or severe gut pain.

“The effect of stress could be protected with probiotics which reverse the inflammation of the inflammasomes,” says John Kao, senior study author and an associate professor of medicine at the University of Michigan. “This study reveals an important mechanism for explaining why treating IBS patients with probiotics makes sense.”

The important takeaway from this study regarding probiotics: Your body is under constant attack externally (bad bacteria is lurking everywhere) and internally (too many things to do and not enough time to do them). Taking a probiotic is the safest, most effective way to maintain the balance that protects and preserves a healthy gut-brain axis.

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9 back-to-school health tips for parents

You can look at back to school time one of two ways. On one hand, this is a great time of the year. Your kids are moving upward on the educational ladder and heading off to new experiences, filling you with pride and joy.

With all the changes you and your kids are experiencing, unfortunately, stressors are sure to follow. Adjusting to new schedules and new schools are the most common stressors, followed close behind by exposure to viruses and assorted cold and flu bugs from classmates.

That’s why these back to school health tips for kids are so essential to protect your kids.

Taking a multi-species probiotic once a day can treat many of these emotional and bug-related problems very simply and safely, without the need for a drug, especially an antibiotic that can seemingly worsen health problems as often as they treat them successfully.

In fact, studies have shown as many of 50 percent of the kids treated with antibiotics for something as simple as an ear infection will develop antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD).

However, a recent assessment of 16 studies by the Cochrane Database System Review  (including kids as young as two weeks old and as old as 17 years) found those who had been given a probiotic along with antibiotics lessened incidents of AAD by 50 percent.

Even better, kids who were given probiotics with higher colony counts of beneficial bacteria lowered their odds of suffering from antibiotic-related diarrhea by an amazing 63 percent.

Other tips parents can take to ensure the health of their children—no matter how old they are—is protected in addition to taking a probiotic:

  • Train them to wash their hands as often as possible.
  • Help kids better handle the events that boost their stress levels to harmful levels by setting good examples for them.
  • Get your kids off to a good start by ensuring they eat nutritious meals, starting with a good breakfast.
  • Make sure your kids are getting the exercise their bodies need every day.
  • Pack those backpacks children use to carry lunches and books lightly, while ensuring they’re equipped with wide, padded straps.
  • Keep your kids, no matter how old they are, on a consistent sleep schedule of at least 9 hours every day if not longer.
  • Are your kids up-to-date with all their immunizations before heading back to school? Protect them and their classmates by keeping your kids current on all their shots.
  • When was the last time your child had an eye exam? Protect their vision and improve their grades by making an appointment.

EndoMune hopes your back-to-school week goes well!

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Probiotics May Battle IBS-Induced Stress

You may recall a recent study I posted about the possibilities of an anxiety-free future by taking probiotics. Those possibilities are looking a little more like probabilities, based on the results of a University of Michigan study on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Although stressful emotions aren’t the primary cause of IBS, they can alter brain-gut interactions that trigger the intestinal inflammation that spurs diarrhea, belly pains (severe or chronic) or a loss of appetite.

In tests on mice, University of Michigan scientists discovered that stress may suppress an important element called an inflammasome, which is needed to maintain healthy gut microbes. The good news: Probiotics reversed the suppressive effect in these animals.

“This study reveals an important mechanism for explaining why IBS patients with probiotics makes sense,” said senior study author, gastroenterologist and associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan John Y. Kao, M.D.

During the course of the study, researchers found inhibiting inflammosomes changed gut composition, resulting in intestinal inflammation. However, pretreating some rats with probiotics reduced inflammation in animals with stress-induced, small bowel inflammation.

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A Possible Anxiety-Free Future With Probiotics

For many, new stresses may arise as the result of the New Year. From New Year’s resolutions to the upcoming tax season, stress and anxiety can take a toll on the body. Recently, researchers looked at how stress and anxiety directly affect the gut-brain axis.

A new study on mice conducted by an international team of researchers found a connection between probiotics, stress and anxiety. Researchers divided the mice into two groups, one being fed a Lactobacillus rhamnosus-filled broth, a bacterium found in EndoMune Advanced, and the other a bacteria-free broth. Conclusions drawn from the study suggest that those that drank the Lactobacillus rhamnosus-filled broth were less stressed and produced less corticosterone, a stress hormone, when reacting to a nerve-racking event.

Although it is not conclusive that probiotics can replace medications for anxiety or stress, the study initiates the idea that alternative treatments, like probiotics, for anxiety or stress disorders may exist in the future. Read the full study and its implications here.

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Probiotics – Helping You Think Happy Thoughts?

A recent study analyzing the effect of gut bacteria and probiotics on brain activity may have positive implications for individuals.  Although still in the most preliminary stages of analysis and evaluation, scientists have discerned a link between the presence of probiotics in the diet and muted mental reactions to outside negative stress or stimuli.

Read the full article for details on how the study was conducted and when these hypotheses may gain enough support to become proven facts.

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Tax Season Can Lead to Stress and IBS

April is a wonderful time of the year. Spring is nature’s way of saying, “let’s party.”(1)

Planting new flowers and watching the first blossoms of the year are very joyful and relaxing activities, especially after enduring the cold gray days of winter.

Unfortunately, despite its beauty, April can sometimes be stressful for various reasons. At the forefront of many people’s mind is the need to file taxes. Or, you may be waiting to hear where your children will be going to school next year, or if they will find a job. If you happen to be one of those millions of people experiencing stress this season, you may want to consider taking a probiotic after you read this month’s newsletter.

Stress Causes Changes in Bacteria

Two very interesting articles were published in March. These articles investigated how stress can adversely affect the healthy bacteria of intestines(2,3) .

In my practice of gastroenterology, I would see many patients who had ongoing symptoms of abdominal pain and change in stool habits. Despite comprehensive evaluations, no specific cause could be found for many of the patients. As a result, they would be labeled with the diagnosis of “Irritable Bowel Syndrome” (IBS).

At the time, it was thought that the symptoms of IBS were frequently due to stress. The common therapies included medications that combined an antispasmodic and a mild tranquilizer like Librax, Donnatal or Bentyl. These medications were treating the symptoms, but not the cause of stress. If medical researchers can determine the cause of the symptoms, then better therapy can be developed.

Immune System and Stress Regulation

The intestines contain 70% of our immune cells. It’s these cells that are responsible for monitoring the bacteria entering our system. Harmful bacteria stimulate the intestines to release inflammatory mediators (cytokines) in an effort to destroy the harmful bacteria. An increase in these mediators can result in intestinal inflammation, which in turn causes the symptoms of IBS.

One study(3)  published in March measured the level of inflammatory cytokines in 30 patients with IBS and in 30 normal controls. The level of cytokines were much higher in the IBS group – indicating there is a link between IBS and cytokines.

The other study(2)  investigated the intestinal bacteria in mice before and after they were exposed to a stressful situation. Following exposure to the stress, there was a change in the composition of the intestinal bacteria. With this change came an increase in harmful bacteria, which then induced the immune system to release inflammatory cytokines.

These research studies help to understand the cause of IBS symptoms. Now, the question is how to decrease the inflammation induced by stress. Doing this will be a giant step toward “treating” the symptoms of IBS.

Fortunately, scientific studies(4,5)  have already demonstrated that giving probiotics can reduce the immune system release of inflammatory cytokines, thereby easing IBS symptoms.

Take Home Message

If you are experiencing some stress and GI symptoms, consider taking a high quality probiotic like EndoMune so you can fully enjoy this springtime.

Eat healthy, exercise and live well!
Dr. Hoberman

References:

(1) Quote by Robin Williams

(2) Exposure to a social stressor alters the structure of the intestinal microbiota: implications for stressor-induced immunomodulation. Bailey MT, Dowd SE, Galley JD, Hufnagle AR, Allen RG, Lyte M. Brain Behav Immun. 2011 Mar;25(3):397-407

(3) Altered peripheral toll-like receptor responses in the irritable bowel syndrome. McKernan DP, Gaszner G, Quigley EM, Cryan JF, Dinan TG. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2011 May;33(9):1045-52.

(4) The role of microbiota and probiotics in stress-induced gastro-intestinal damage.Lutgendorff F, Akkermans LM, Söderholm JD. Curr Mol Med. 2008 Jun;8(4):282-98

(5) Therapies aimed at the gut microbiota and inflammation: antibiotics, prebiotics, probiotics, synbiotics, anti-inflammatory therapies.Quigley EM.Gastroenterol Clin North Am. 2011 Mar;40(1):207-22

 

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What Causes Gas – Is it a Normal Occurence?

All humans have gas in their gastrointestinal tract. The type of food, and beverages consumed and whether the individual smokes or chews gum will have a significant impact on the amount of gas produced and passed. Carbonated beverages will increase intestinal gas. Eating a healthy diet of fruits, vegetables and high fiber grains increases intestinal gas formation.

Dependent upon how it is measured, the gas in the intestinal tract varies from 3 to 6 ounces. The average adult produces 16 to 48 ounces of intestinal gas resulting in about 14 to 23 gas passages/day.

  • Complex Carbohydrates: The human intestinal tract can’t digest some of the complex carbohydrates in vegetables, fruits and whole grain products. These carbohydrates pass through the small intestines into the colon where they are fermented by gas producing bacteria. Hydrogen, carbon dioxide and methane are the main gases produced. Depending on the diet and the intestinal microflora, the amount of gas produced and expelled will vary from individual to individual. The strong odor sometimes associated with intestinal gas is due to the very small production of sulfide gases which is dependent on diet and intestinal bacteria.
  • Lactose is a sugar in dairy products which must be broken down to a simpler form to be absorbed by the intestines. Thirty to 50 million Americans develop lactose intolerance beginning after the age of 2. It is a common problem in the Asian, African American, American Indian, Hispanic, and Eastern European Jewish populations. Undigested lactose prevents fluid absorption and the sugar is fermented by the bacteria in the colon which results in increased intestinal gas and at times, diarrhea. The main form of therapy is to avoid lactose containing foods.
  • Fructose: Another dietary sugar that can cause excessive gas, bloating and loose stools is fructose. Fruits that are high in fructose include apples, apricots, pears, cherries, plums, prunes and peaches (as well as their juices). It is also a used as sweetener in soft drinks and other products. The small intestine has a limited ability to absorb dietary fructose. If it is exceeded, fructose will be fermented in the colon leading to excess gas formation.
  • Sorbitol is found naturally in fruits, including apples, pears, peaches, and prunes. It is also used as an artificial sweetener in many dietetic foods and sugar free candies and gums. Sorbitol is not well absorbed by the small intestines. Excess intake will also lead to bloating, gas, and diarrhea.

Studies have found that some individuals with symptoms of bloating and distention may be more sensitive to the amount of gas and fluid in the intestines. Some may have slow intestinal motility leading more fluid and gas in the intestines.

Having the right balance of bacteria in the intestines can be important to lessen the symptoms of bloating, distention and gas.

Probiotics, containing bacterial strains similar to those in Endomune have been studied and utilized to help lessen these symptoms. There have been positive results in many of the studies. There are no effective prescription medications to alleviate excess gas formation. One of the nice aspects of probiotics is the fact that they are safe and without significant side effects. Given the positive studies, taking Endomune may improve the digestion and absorption of the complex and simple carbohydrates.

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Probiotics Help with Stress Reduction

This is a wonderful time of the year. The holiday season is about relaxing and visiting with family and friends. It’s a special time when many of us redirect our attentions to sharing and giving to those less fortunate.

It goes without saying, though, that the holidays can be stressful. There are so many things to do and many people to visit – perhaps even people with whom we’d rather not spend time!

With this in mind, I wanted to share with you a new medical report about the benefits of probiotics in lessening stress and anxiety.  I know what you’re thinking; How could the bugs in our gut affect our mood?

Probiotics: The Anti-Stress Pill?

A recent article in the British Journal of Nutrition(1) reported the beneficial psychological effects of probiotics. Years of research studies have already established a link between stress and gastrointestinal diseases, such as irritable bowel syndrome and ulcerative colitis(2,3). Based on these studies, it’s reasonable to conclude that probiotics may have a positive influence on our moods. The article explored various studies.

One study was a randomized, placebo-controlled pilot study that found probiotics to improve the emotional symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome patients(4). This finding was the result of two studies. The first study, conducted on rats, gave one group a daily dose of probiotic bacteria for two weeks, and the other group received a placebo. The animals were then given a mild shock from an electrode. The rats that received the probiotic had lower stress and anxiety scores as compared to the control group.

After conducting the test on rats, the researchers moved to human volunteers; participants received either a probiotic or a placebo for 30 days. Everyone was given a battery of psychological tests at the beginning and at the completion of the study.

These tests assessed levels of stress and anxiety. Psychological distress, including measures of depression, anger-hostility, anxiety and problem solving were significantly improved in individuals who received the probiotics, as compared to those in the placebo group.

The researchers concluded that “the results of these studies provide further evidence that gut microflora play a role in stress, anxiety and depression”.(1)

Researches have inferred two possible reasons for the results: (1) the intestinal bacteria send signals via nerves going from the intestinal tract to the brain, or (2) the bacteria release mood-enhancing substances that travel through the blood stream to the brain. Further studies will be needed to confirm the findings, but probiotics might be a novel additional therapy in treating psychiatric disorders.

Take Home Message

This brings us back to the holidays. If you are shopping and planning for special family and friend gatherings, you may be feeling just a little bit of stress. Consider taking a high quality probiotic like EndoMune. It might just ease some of the holiday stress and prevent any GI disturbances.

Best wishes for a very happy holiday season and a healthy New Year!!

Eat healthy and live well!
Lawrence J Hoberman MD

References:

(1) Assessment of psychotropic-like properties of a probiotic formulation ( Lactobacillus helveticus R0052 and Bifidobacterium longum R0175) in rats and human subjects. Messaoudi M, Lalonde R, Violle N, Javelot H, Desor D, Nejdi A, Bisson JF, Rougeot C, Pichelin M, Cazaubiel M, Cazaubiel JM. Br J Nutr. 2010 Oct 26:1-9.

(2) The Brain-Gut Axis in Abdominal Pain Syndromes. Mayer EA, Tillisch K.Annu Rev Med. 2010 Jan 27.

(3) Curr Mol Med. 2008 Jun;8(4):282-98.The role of microbiota and probiotics in stress-induced gastro-intestinal damage.Lutgendorff FAkkermans LMSöderholm JD.

(4) A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study of a probiotic in emotional symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome.Rao AV, Bested AC, Beaulne TM, Katzman MA, Iorio C, Berardi JM, Logan AC.Gut Pathog. 2009 Mar 19;1(1):6.

 

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