Gut microbiome is of great importance now. Researchers have found that gut bacteria can influence the personality, health and mood of an individual. According to the latest research, there is known to be a connection between schizophrenia and microbiome.
Stool samples have been analysed from three groups. These include patients with schizophrenia on medication, patients with schizophrenia and not taking medicines and also people who do not suffer from schizophrenia.
The results reveal that people with schizophrenia had gut bacteria which the control group did not have. Also, the control group had gut bacteria which patients with schizophrenia did not have. Thus, researchers found an unusual schizophrenic-specific strain of gut bacteria.
For further testing purpose, researchers inoculated mice with specific sterile guts with gut bacteria which the patients with schizophrenia had.
The mice had some unusual behavioural changes, which means change in symptoms which were quite similar to schizophrenia.
According to research, gut bacteria inoculations can:
- Make fat mice a little thin
- Make thin mice fat
- Calm down anxious mice
- Make calm mice anxious
Studies reveal that gut bacteria have an influence on heart disease, diabetes, depression, irritable bowel syndrome, high blood pressure, obesity and more.
Though there is no treatment of gut bacteria, it is promising a path in treating mood disorders and chronic health conditions, which are with profound implications.
Promoting Healthy Gut Bacteria:
If it is about healthy gut microbiome, diversity is said to be the key. The vegetables you have and the gut bacteria have a major role to play.
It is possible to have a brain-friendly gut microbiome in following way:
You need to eliminate all foods which kill gut bacteria. There might be a few things which will kill the good bacteria and promote all bad things like household disinfectants, processed foods, food additives, hand sanitizers, fast foods, energy drinks, excessive salt, alcohol and sugar.
You need to have a variety of vegetables. You need to have a huge variety of vegetables and on a regular basis. You should stay away from having the same kind of vegetables daily as the bacteria need diversity of plant fiber. You can have 25-30 grams of this in a day.
Probiotics are helpful: You can have a combination of pre- and also probiotic support. You can try various kinds of probiotic strains to check if it is more helpful.
Have fermented foods. Yogurt, Sauerkraut, Kombucha, and kimchee are rich in live bacteria which is quite helpful in boosting their own population.
Vagus Nerve – This is a large communication nerve which runs between the gut and the brain. Brain inflammation, aging and brain injuries are known to influence the brain health and can create problem with the functioning of the vagus nerve. The communication between the gut and the brain is also affected. This is known to have an impact on the functioning of the gut in a way that it degrades the gut microbiome.
Get in touch with my office to know how functional medicine or functional neurology can support the gut microbiome and your brain.