Gut-Brain Axis and Probiotics: what role your gut plays in your mental wellbeing
- from our friends at Optibac
The connection between the gut and brain has been a hot topic for many years. Here, we explain about the links between mental health and your gut health. It can feel like a chicken and egg conundrum – does stress and anxiety lead to gut disruptions such as diarrhoea, or does poor gut health lead to feeling low?
In fact, the connection between your gut health and mental health goes both ways. They are inextricably linked. We know that stress disrupts the gut-brain balance, contributing to IBS symptoms flare-ups. Research has also shown that changes in the gut microbiome, the trillions of bacteria and microbes that live in our gut, can affect mental wellbeing.
At Optibac we have heard from many customers over the past few years about how much their mental health fluctuates. Equally, we hear from the same customers how they feel more mentally balanced and resilient when taking probiotics and focusing on the health of their gut. How does this work exactly?
Neurotransmitters, chemical messengers which convey information between the gut and brain, are produced in the gut. Serotonin, GABA, and dopamine, three of the most well-known neurotransmitters, directly affect how our brains work, altering both our behaviour and mood. Certain probiotics can impact the body’s ability to produce these neurotransmitters and, as around 90% of our serotonin is produced in the gut, it makes sense that our gut microbes play an important role in the production of these messengers. While serotonin is known as our ‘happy hormone’, GABA is our ‘calm chemical’. As you might imagine, we need both present in our gut for healthy, balanced wellbeing.
It is always best to look for probiotic supplements that have specific, relevant research on the strains contained in the supplements.
For example, two strains of probiotics that have shown much promise in helping people improve their mental health are Lactobacillus acidophilus Rosell-52 and Bifidobacterium longum Rosell-175. Other strains which have been specifically researched for their positive effects on stress and anxiety include Bifidobacterium longum 1714 and Lactobacillus casei Shirota. At Optibac we are passionate about helping our customers choose the right strains for their specific needs. Optibac Every Day is our award-winning daily probiotic containing 6 well-researched strains, two of which are the afore mentioned Lactobacillus acidophilus Rosell-52 and Bifidobacterium longum Rosell-175, as well as FOS fibres, which together help to complement and increase the natural bacteria living in the gut. Alongside probiotic supplements our Nutrition experts at Optibac always recommend an unprocessed diet rich in fermented foods, plus plenty of rest and relaxation to calm the mind and body.
When there is an imbalance in the bacteria in our gut microbiome, called dysbiosis, our body’s stress response is activated. Dysbiosis and stress can affect the barrier of our gut, making it ‘leaky’. A ‘leaky’ gut allows substances our body wouldn’t usually have to deal with through the gut lining, often triggering an immune response. This immune response leads to an increase in inflammation in the gut which in turn triggers a stress response. Long-term inflammation is challenging for all areas of the body. Research indicates that chronic inflammation can be an underlying factor in on-going depression and low mood. The good news is that beneficial probiotic bacteria, found in probiotic supplements, are known to produce helpful short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) which can help to preserve the integrity of the gut lining, thereby reducing inflammation and calming the stress response. This is yet another example of how probiotics can help to balance the gut-brain axis.
We should also remember that there is a physical connection between the gut and the brain. The vagus nerve connects the central nervous system in our brain to the intestinal nervous system, sometimes called the second brain, located in our gut. This vital nerve controls specific ‘unconscious’ functions in the body, such as heart rate and the process of digestion. The saying that health begins in the gut could not be more true.
Helen Morton
Optibac Digital Content Executive, Nutritional Therapist