Will be interested to at some point see what kind of connection gastrointestinal autoimmune (among others) diseases such as Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis have on not only the guy microbe balance, but mental health as well. Many mental health disorders have strong genetic ties, as well as autoimmune diseases. Wonder if existence of one makes the likelihood of existence of the other greater.
Gut microbe linked to depression in large health study
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Re: Gut microbe linked to depression in large health study
#12Tangential: Is there any evidence that pro biotic foods or supplements can increase gut health? Given the evident importance of gut health, I wonder whether it's worth using something like this, to grab a random example: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Restored-Bio-Cultures/dp/B082SZXBF2...
Anecdata: Tried various probiotics, no help. Pre-biotics however, have been huge. Search for "resistant starch".
Re: Gut microbe linked to depression in large health study
#13I thought this had been known for a while?
From the article:
> Morganella has already been implicated in depression. As far back as 2008, researchers investigating a possible link between depression and inflammation found depressed people had stronger immune responses to chemicals produced by Morganella and other gram-negative bacteria in the gut. Thus, the newest study seems to be “further proof” that inflammation caused by gut microbes can influence mood, Gilbert says.
Re: Gut microbe linked to depression in large health study
#14Since diet can affect the microbiome of the gut and I can't imagine how gut bacteria affect moods (although I'm open to the idea I suppose) I'd wager it is actually diet and nutritional input that affects mood as well as the gut bacteria. Makes more sense to me that your mood can be affected by your diet, and what we are measuring is the altered microbiome of the gut because of the diet.
You wouldn't expect a fecal transplant to help if the bacteria were entirely incidental though.
Two patients and no control group is virtually useless for drawing any conclusions:
> Indeed, researchers recently reported in Frontiers in Psychiatry that fecal transplants improved symptoms in two depressed patients.
Depression research is challenging because even placebo groups tend to have dramatic improvements.
Re: Gut microbe linked to depression in large health study
#15Tangential: Is there any evidence that pro biotic foods or supplements can increase gut health? Given the evident importance of gut health, I wonder whether it's worth using something like this, to grab a random example: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Restored-Bio-Cultures/dp/B082SZXBF2...
Sauerkraut is simple to make and cabbage is cheap.
https://www.livestrong.com/article/413921-does-sauerkraut-ha...
Re: Gut microbe linked to depression in large health study
#16or depression causes this bacteria to proliferate more easily?
I see nothing in that research showing causation. It doesn't invalidate their correlation though.
Re: Gut microbe linked to depression in large health study
#17Earlier quoted context omitted.
So... you can imagine how gut bacteria affect mood after all?
I wonder which gut bacteria make me crave cheap Mac and Cheese...
It seems like you are joking, but many of the fecal transplant patients report their food preferences changing, sometimes dramatically.
Re: Gut microbe linked to depression in large health study
#18Since diet can affect the microbiome of the gut and I can't imagine how gut bacteria affect moods (although I'm open to the idea I suppose) I'd wager it is actually diet and nutritional input that affects mood as well as the gut bacteria. Makes more sense to me that your mood can be affected by your diet, and what we are measuring is the altered microbiome of the gut because of the diet.
As mentioned in the article, there is already a causal hypotheses for why the biome itself is the cause, certain people have strong immune responses to the products of these bacteria which causes a chronic inflammatory response.
Re: Gut microbe linked to depression in large health study
#19For those curious, morganella is the main culprit listed here, it seems. Wikipedia isn't clear to me on how one gets this in your biome. Outside of other susp conditions. :(
My personal, completely unsubstantiated take is: your diet allows certain bacteria to thrive (or not). It’s less about trying to avoid the bad ones and more about trying to nurture the good ones. One incredible thing you can do for your gut is eat more fiber; which the vast majority of Americans don’t. Try psyllium husk powder (the stuff in Metamucil). Eat less refined sugar and saturated fat; eat more raw and fermented vegetables. Probiotics are kind of a scam, and are usually really expensive. Like most things with health, you have to consistently do the not-so-fun things to get good results, you can’t just take a pill and move on.
Re: Gut microbe linked to depression in large health study
#20Strange coincidence, just last night drank milk kefir and woke up feeling much more lighter in my head...Guess I know the reason now...
I've found kefir to be useful myself, but only after a few weeks of daily consumption.