Engage Counselling
Engage With Change
  • home
  • About Engage Counselling
    • About Engage Counselling
    • Counselling for Men
  • Your First Visit
    • Your first visit
    • Common reasons to see a counsellor
    • What can I gain from seeing a counsellor?
    • Anxiety and Depression - common symptoms
    • Living a life that is different - LGBTI community
    • Counselling for Gay Men
  • contact
  • Engage With Life Blog

Is there a link between gut bacteria and anxiety?

14/2/2015

0 Comments

 
Anecdotal evidence has indicated for some time an apparent connection between mental health and healthy gut flora.

A recent study by 
neurobiologists at Oxford University has provided exciting evidence that such a link does indeed exist - and it has implications for treating anxiety and stress-related conditions naturally.
Picture
Picture
The study is preliminary and concludes further research into actually how to turn the results into practical treatments is required, the study nonetheless provides a strong incentive to add or increase the level of pre- and pro- biotics into the regular diet.

What are pre- and pro- biotics? Pre-biotics are non-digestible carbohydrates (often referred to as "soluble fibre") that can be found in many foods such as artichokes, leeks, asparagus, legumes and oats. Supplements such as metamucil and benefibre are also essentially a pre-biotic and can be useful. Pro-biotics are beneficial bacteria that reside in our intestines. There are hundreds of types, and they have been proven over many years to be a vital part of our health and immune system.

Pro-biotics feed off pre-biotics in the gut, and are known to "
modulate the processing of information that is strongly linked to anxiety and depression, and influences the neuroendocrine stress response." (Schmidt et al, 2014) What, then, is the link between the brain, the gut, and anxiety?

The Oxford study tested the amount of the stress hormone cortisol present  the saliva of volunteers when put under stressful situations. There were two groups of volunteers - one undergoing treatment with a prebiotic, and the other undergoing treatment with a placebo. The result was a significantly lower stress response in the treated volunteers.

While this result can't be seen as definitive or a replacement to existing treatments for anxiety and other stress-related conditions, it does suggest that pre- and pro- biotics should be utilised in any wholistic treatment of anxiety and stress-related conditions.

As well as the added benefits of regularity, lower cholesterol and lower blood pressure, a small (half-cup) breakfast of oats, natural muesli with added
psyllium husks (from a health food store), yoghurt or a pre-biotic drink might just help to relieve some of your feelings of stress and anxiety.


Prebiotic intake reduces the waking cortisol response and alters emotional bias in healthy volunteers, (2014) Kristin Schmidt, Philip J. Cowen, Catherine J. Harmer, George Tzortzis, Steven Errington and Philip W. J. Burnet; 
Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford

Space for comments below



0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Chris is a Counsellor and Psychotherapist at Engage Counselling, Sydney

    Archives

    April 2023
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2019
    December 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    October 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Academic
    Anger
    Anxiety
    Coming Out
    Communication
    Covid 19 Coronavirus
    Covid-19 Coronavirus
    Depression
    Empathy
    Happiness
    Introvert
    LGBTQI
    Living As We Prefer
    Men
    Narrative Therapy
    Neuropsychotherapy
    Poll
    Psychology
    Psychotherapy
    PTSD
    Quantum Method
    Relationships
    Self Compassion
    Social Media
    Stress
    Suicide
    Technology
    Trauma
    Young Men

© 2014-2017 Engage Counselling (ABN 17 393 541 366) - All Rights Reserved, Worldwide
Contact: [email protected]
Engage Counselling: Personal and professional Counselling, Coaching and Psychotherapy for men in Sydney's Inner West, Newtown, Enmore, Stanmore, Marrickville, Camperdown, Chippendale, St Peters, Erskineville, Pyrmont, Darling Harbour, Balmain, Sydney, City, Broadway, Ultimo, CBD and surrounding suburbs.