Does bacteria really have the ability to alter the mind? It makes sense when we take a look at the gut/brain axis via the immune and central nervous system. This research really hits home for me. You see, as I have mentioned on my
website, I suffered from OCD, a tourette style tic and ADHD. I was on a host of antibiotics as a child for none other than strep throat which is a correlation of which you
will read in this piece.
You are 90% bacteria and it is imperative that you feed and foster your bacteria with healthy whole foods, an outdoor presence and prevention of abuse of antibiotics by our medical system.
- The average adult carries up to five pounds of bacteria
- Healthy bacteria are known as probiotics, commonly found in yogurt, soy yogurt or as dietary supplements
- Probiotics
are also delivered in fecal transplants, in which stool from a healthy
donor is delivered like a suppository to an infected patient
- Strep bacterium is linked to OCD
- Gut bacteria regulate dopamine levels
- A build-up of
dopamine causes agitation and stress on the body
- Gut bacteria ‘talk to the brain' through the immune system or parts of the nervous system
By
Daily Mail Reporter
People suffering from anxiety, might just need to eat more 'healthy' bacteria.
Some
scientists think there may be a link between our digestive tract
microbes and disorders such as anxiety, schizophrenia and autism.
They
are beginning to recognise the power of healthy gut bacteria,
especially seeing that the average adult carries up to five pounds of
bacteria - trillions of microbes - in their digestive tract.
Probiotics
are commonly consumed as part of fermented foods with specially added
active live cultures, such as in yogurt, soy yogurt or as dietary
supplements.
Probiotics
are also delivered in fecal transplants, in which stool from a healthy
donor is delivered like a suppository to an infected patient.
A
study published in Nutritional Neuroscience from The Great Plains
Laboratory, has shown that HPHPA levels - the chemical byproduct of the
clostridia bacteria - are much higher in the urine of autistic children.
Those treated with antibiotics effective against clostridia show a decrease in symptoms of autism.
 |
| Dr. James Greenblatt |
Dr
James Greenblatt, a Boston-area psychiatrist, treated a teenager with
severe obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), as well as attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and an array of digestive problems.
Greenblatt first did a simple urine test for the metabolite HPHPA and found that it was elevated.
He
put the patient, Mary, on a course of high-powered probiotics to boost
her good bacteria, followed by antibiotics, and her levels began to
‘dramatically’ go down, he told ABC News.
After six months, Mary's symptoms began to disappear. And by a year, they were gone.
Today, three years later, Mary is a senior in high school and has no sign of either mental disorder.
In some patients, the strep bacterium
has been linked to OCD in a condition known as PANDAS - an acronym for
Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with
Streptococcal infections.
PANDAS,
which is a rare disease that usually appears in children, is
hypothesised to be an autoimmune disorder that results in a variable
combination of tics, obsessions, compulsions, and other symptoms that
may be severe enough to qualify for diagnoses such as chronic tic
disorder, OCD and Tourette syndrome.
A
10-year-old from Virginia was treated with probiotics after being
incorrectly diagnosed with PANDAS after he developed compulsive symptoms
following a strep infection and a lengthy course on antibiotics.
‘He had no gut flora,’ said his mother, Robin, who did not want to use her last name.
‘He
had been healthy and athletically coordinated and then developed these
compulsive behavior and tics. It didn't seem like it was in his
control.’
After probiotics, ‘it was like night and day’, she told ABC News. ‘His symptoms went away and he was totally fine.’
A
recent study in the journal Science shows that thin and fat people have
different bacteria -- a discovery that could lead to weight-loss
programmes.
Babies are
born with a sterile digestive tract and first acquire their bacteria
while traveling through the birth canal and get more in breast milk and
in the world outside the womb through contact with other people.
Scientists are so far unable to
identify every strain of bacteria, but they can test for the chemical
byproducts that they produce, according to Greenblatt.
He
said he checks every patient for HPHPA with a simple organic acid urine
test before moving ahead with medications to treat symptoms.
'Eight
out of 10 people are fine,' he said. 'But in the two patients where
it's elevated, it can have profound effects on the nervous system.'
'I don't know why this test isn't done on every psychiatric patient,' he said. 'I question that every day.'
HPHPA causes deactivation of an enzyme so that dopamine cannot be
converted to the neurotransmitter neuroepinephrine, Greenblatt said, and
that causes a build-up of dopamine.
'We know elevated levels in the dopamine gene cause agitation,' he told ABC News.
In
one 2010 study at McMaster University in Canada, published in the
journal Communicative and Integrative Biology, scientists found a link
between intestinal microbiota and anxiety-like behaviour.
Researchers compared the behaviours of normal 8-week-old mice and those whose guts were stripped of microbes.
Those without bacteria showed higher levels of risk-taking and the stress hormone cortisol.
They also had altered levels of the brain chemical BDNF, which has been linked to anxiety and depression in humans.
Jane Foster, associate professor of
neuroscience and behavioral science and part of the McMaster University
& Brain-Body Institute, says gut bacteria ‘talk to the brain in
multiple ways through either the immune system or the enteric nervous
system’.
However, while using probiotics may help a ‘subset of patients’, she said. It's not a ‘magic bullet’.
Early
life stresses, nutrition and building a strong immune system all play
an important role in a person's mental health, she said.
Source: The Daily Mall
Some valuable tips for increasing your gut bacteria include:
- Fermented foods and beverages like sauerkraut, vegetable and beet kvass, kombucha, yogurt, kefir (dairy and water)
- Play in the dirt! Yes, the original soil organisms which we have lived symbiotically with for millions of years. Get your hands dirty in the garden....
- Avoid use of antibacterial soaps and lotions as these kill all bacteria. You have unique colonies on the skin that assist in protecting you so don't kill them!
- Don't be so quick to accept that antibiotic. Ask yourself if you think you have the tools to fight your bacterial infection through holistic means. Colloidal Silver, Honey, Coconut Oil, etc. A good example; my husband had a molar pulled and when the oral surgeon offered him an antibiotic "for good measure", my husband refused. You see, he makes his own colloidal silver and began rinsing the incision with that 3x daily. Much to the Dr.s surprise, the area healed expeditiously with this simple holistic remedy and my husband was not "wiped out" of bacteria "just in case"
- Take a probiotic supplement here and there to reinoculate when needed.
- Feed your existing flora with prebiotics which are fermentable fibers found in vegetables and some fruits. Some of my favorites include: asparagus, leek, onions, banana and garlic. Leave out the banana if you're working on blood sugar regulation and/or fat loss.
