These two common health ailments cause anxiety and depression in many men
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Feeling anxious or depressed? This could be why
Matt Cook here, and an inflamed brain is a depressed one.
Many studies show that inflammation lowers metabolism…
And lower metabolism is the cause of chronic depression.
Bacteria which originate from our guts can trigger inflammation – and they can trigger inflammation right throughout the body.
Keeping these bacteria under control can reduce brain inflammation, lowering anxiety and depression.
One of the many signs of out-of-control bacteria is IBS – irritable bowel syndrome.
Probiotics which treat IBS can reduce systemic inflammation, depression, and anxiety.
The human research was carried out at National University of Ireland in Cork, Ireland. This paper was published in Neurogastroenterology & Motility.
Stress is known to cause abnormal bowel behavior. When abnormal bowel behavior becomes a chronic problem and doctors can’t find the root cause they call it IBS – irritable bowel syndrome.
Irritable bowel syndrome is often accompanied by anxiety and/or depression.
“Stress is an exacerbator of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms, and anxiety and depression are co-morbidities.”
The authors of this study investigated the effects of two probiotic strains of bacteria – strains which had been shown to help with IBS and decrease the stress response.
“Bifidobacterium longum strains 1714 and 35642 attenuate stress responses in healthy people and reduce symptoms in IBS, respectively.”
They looked at the effect of the combination of these two probiotics on psychological stress and biological inflammation.
“Here, we explore relationships between the psychological effects of the two strains (COMBO) in IBS subjects and biomarkers of stress and inflammation.”
40 patients with IBS and either anxiety and/or depression were recruited.
They were compared against 57 healthy participants.
“We recruited 40 patients with IBS and anxiety (HADS-A) and/or depression (HADS-D) and 57 healthy controls with low or moderate stress.”
The participants were given the combination of probiotic bacteria for about two months.
“IBS patients were fed COMBO probiotic for 8 weeks with an 8-week washout.”
The participants were assessed every four weeks for four months.
“IBS symptoms, psychometric measures, salivary cortisol awakening response (CAR), and plasma inflammatory biomarkers were assessed every 4 weeks.”
At the outset, people with IBS had lower cortisol awakening response (CAR). CAR is the increase in cortisol experienced right after we wake up.
“Compared to healthy controls, IBS subjects had a blunted CAR.”
Chronically elevated cortisol is a bad thing – but the cortisol awakening response is associated with better health.
A number of studies have shown that people with higher cortisol awakening responses are better at dealing with stress.
The combination of probiotics improved the cortisol awakening response in people with IBS.
“Treatment with COMBO restored CAR and improved IBS symptoms compared to baseline during the treatment phase.”
Depression (HADS-D) and anxiety (HADS-S) improved in IBS patients taking these probiotics.
HADS-D and HADS-A are standard questionnaires used to assess depression or anxiety.
The researchers also found a significant reduction in something called TNF-α. TNF-α is a primary inflammatory marker.
The supplements reduced inflammation.
The patients slept better after taking these probiotics.
“The COMBO reduced HADS-D, HADS-A score, and TNF-α, while sleep quality improved significantly from baseline to the end of the intervention.”
The improvement continued in the weeks after the participants had stopped taking the probiotics too.
The researchers believe that these probiotics work by altering the daily pattern of stress hormones to a more natural and healthy rhythm.
“The time course of the beneficial effect of COMBO on IBS symptoms suggests that this is achieved through a restoration of the stress response.”
It’s also very likely that the improvement had something to do with the decrease in systemic inflammation…
…likely driven by the probiotics out-competing and killing off more inflammatory bacteria.
“In contrast, the time course of the effects of COMBO on anxiety and depression in IBS paralleled an anti-inflammatory effect as indicated by a reduction in circulating levels of TNF-α.”
You should always consult your healthcare practitioner for guidance on medical diagnosis and treatment.
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