The Benefits Of Probiotics

Probiotics

A “leaky gut” can impact health in more ways than one—how probiotics
can come to the rescue By Vera Tweed
  
The gut microbiome - the bacterial community in our digestive tracts - continues to be a hot topic as scientists find more ways in which it influences human health. This colony of gut bacteria plays a key role in everything from digestion, to the health of our skin, to resistance to colds, flu, and allergies, to the ability to maintain a healthy weight. And now, a new connection has been identified: to serious lung diseases.

In acute respiratory distress syndrome (severely inflamed, fluid-filled lungs of critically ill patients), a study at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor found errant gut microbes in the lungs. “We suspect that the gut wall gets leaky, and gut bacteria ‘escape’ to the lungs,” says researcher Robert Dickson, MD. The misplaced gut bugs contribute  to the disease, and this discovery may lead to new treatments for the condition, a leading killer of patients in intensive care units for which there is no effective medical treatment. Other lung diseases that may be influenced by the gut microbiome include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fi brosis, pneumonia, and even lung cancer.

SOLVING THE LEAKY GUT PROBLEM

Also referred to as permeability of the gastrointestinal tract, leaky gut means that toxic particles, which can be detoxified if they remain in the digestive tract, escape into the blood and circulate. The leakiness triggers systemic inflammation and contributes to a variety of ills including weight gain, infl ammatory bowel disease, problems with immune function, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, mental decline, and even Alzheimer’s or other dementia. Probiotics can help reverse the condition.

At the University of North Texas, Denton, the fi rst human study of its kind measured levels of “endotoxins,” substances that are a marker of leaky gut,in a group of 28 healthy men and women. Those in the study were especially vulnerable to elevated levels of endotoxins after eating a high-fat meal such as thin-crust pizza. After  30 days of supplementation with a probiotic combination (Just Thrive Probiotic & Antioxi- dant), levels of endotoxins after  a high-fat meal were 42 percent lower, indicating lower odds of a leaky gut and the related ills. In contrast, among people taking a dummy pill, endotoxin levels were 36 percent higher.

TYPES OF PROBIOTICS

The probiotic supplement tested at the University of North Texas contained a combination  of “spore” probiotics. Spores are a dormant  form of bacteria with their own, natural protective coating, which prevents them from being destroyed by stomach acid and enables them to travel to the intestines, where the bacteria can emerge, much like a butterfly from a cocoon.

About one-third of the bacteria in a healthy human gut produce spores, according to the Sanger Institute, a nonprofit research organization in the United Kingdom. In nature, spore-forming bacteria are mainly found in soil. For bacteria that don’t produce spores, some probiotic supplement pills have a protective coating to prevent stomach acid from destroying beneficial microbes.

The names of spore probiotics begin with “Bacillus.” Names of popular probiotics that begin with “Lactobacillus” or “Bifido- bacterium” are not spores.

MORE PROBIOTICS BENEFITS

Studies have found benefits with all types of probiotics. For weight loss, a review of 25 studies, with more than 1,900 subjects, found that supplements with multiple types of probiotic bacteria produced the most weight loss, more so if taken for at least 8 weeks. Other benefits include prevention or relief from:

* Diarrhea
* Antibiotic side effects
* Colds and flu
* Hay fever
* Eczema
* Irritable bowel syndrome
* Ulcers
* Digestive side effects of cancer therapy
* Constipation
* Impaired mental function in people with Alzheimer’s
* Toxicity from mercury, arsenic, and cadmium
* Vaginal infections
* Depression in people with irritable bowel syndrome
* Unhealthy blood-sugar levels in diabetics


FEEDING GOOD GUT BUGS

Although all types of fiber from plant foods are an essential part of a healthy diet, some foods are especially good sources of prebiotics, special types of fiber that nourish beneficial gut bugs. These foods include apples, asparagus, Jerusalem arti- chokes, leeks, onions, and tiger nuts (not actually nuts, but small root vegetables).

Contributing editor Vera Tweed has been writing about nutrition, fitness, and healthy living since 1997. She specializes in covering research and expert knowledge that empowers people to lead better lives. She is the author of numerous books, including Hormone Harmony and User’s Guide to Carnitine and Acetyl-L-Carnitine.

Source: Amazing Wellness Magazine January 2018

Managing Your Depression

By Susan J Noonan

Foreword

About as many millions of individuals suffer from mood disorders in any given year as from cancer or diabetes. Among all medical conditions worldwide, mood disorders are recognized by the World Health Organization as among the most disabling. By affecting all domains of functioning, including sleep, appetite, energy, mood, motivation, self-esteem, judgment, and hopefulness, major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder interfere with the ability to work, study, maintain relationships, and carry on the very activities of daily living. Social isolation, poor self-care, and pessimism, core symptoms of depression, often become part of a pernicious cycle further reinforcing the impact of a mood disorder on an individual and on families and communities. The most devastating outcome of mood disorders is suicide, which occurs at a tragic rate of about one every 15 minutes in the United States. Although mood disorders, particularly depression, have been thought of in terms of individual episodes of illness, they have increasingly been recognized as often relapsing/remitting conditions that may extend over many years and benefit greatly from astute management through a collaboration between clinician and patient.

Fortunately, over the last three decades, a great deal has been learned about the effective treatment of mood disorders. Evidence-based medication and psychotherapeutic approaches along with novel pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatment strategies have improved our ability to manage illness acutely and prevent recurrence. We continue to learn more about the neurobiological and environmental contributions to mood disorders and how individualized factors may inform treatment choice. Compelling research efforts are underway to investigate the best ways to combine treatment approaches as well as how to prevent the onset of illness in those at risk but not yet affected. Given the prevalence, impact, and often long-term course of major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder, the value of effective treatment, persistence, and well-informed, engaged patients and families in the optimal management of mood disorders is all the more apparent.

In this book, Dr. Noonan courageously presents “lessons learned” during her years of combating a mood disorder. In stark contrast to a model in which patients are passive recipients of diagnosis and treatment, we hope readers will appreciate the overarching theme presented: the critical importance of proactively managing mental health. Dr. Noonan offers the reader comprehensive and accessible coverage of key concepts and principles that are translated into practical “ready to use” self-management skills. Among the book’s outstanding accomplishments are:

* Inclusion of easy-to-read, accurate descriptions of signs and symptoms of mood disorder diagnoses

* Review of medication treatment strategies with an emphasis on how to promote open dialogue between providers and patients

* Presentation of graphic tools for use in tracking symptoms and challenging maladaptive thoughts and behaviors

Perhaps most impressive is the thorough coverage given to skills steeped in the tradition of cognitive and behaviorally based psychotherapies. These skills are predicated on the well-known fact that the way in which an individual thinks and behaves predictably changes during the course of a mood disorder. When depressed, an individual sees the world as half empty and selects for elements of the environment that support this negative view. Alternatively, while hypomanic or manic, an individual can view the world and himself or herself in an overly optimistic or even grandiose manner. Behaviors corresponding to these mood states include isolation/withdrawal and impulsivity/risk taking, respectively. Dr. Noonan’s book offers pragmatic and insightful methods to address both thoughts and behaviors altered during one’s struggle with a mood disorder.

It is an honor to have worked with Dr. Noonan during her long battle with depression. As we hope Dr. Noonan has learned from us, we have learned much from her and incorporate these insights into our work with others. This book is emblematic of Dr. Noonan’s persistence, courage, expertise, willingness to disclose, and desire to share with others practical ways to successfully cope with and manage a mood disorder. We thank her for a contribution that will undoubtedly enhance the health and quality of life of many readers.

Timothy J. Petersen, Ph.D.

Jonathan E. Alpert, M.D., Ph.D.

Andrew A. Nierenberg, M.D.

The Massachusetts General Hospital

Department of Psychiatry

Boston, Massachusetts