From: sheriffcoltrane23x@gmail.com   
      
   The Microbiome & Depression   
      
   AUG 2015   
   The Microbiome & Depression   
   by admin |  posted in: Nutrition, Health, Mental Health/Depression,   
   Dining/Food, Digestive System/Stomach   
      
      
   Understanding the profound connection between a person's microbiome and their   
   brain function may very well be the future of psychiatry. Science has   
   established that the vagus nerve, the primary route that gut bacteria uses to   
   transmit information to your    
   brain, plays a significant role in regulating mood enhancing hormones. The   
   intricate interconnectivity of mental health and good bacteria comes with the   
   new waves surrounding the discovery of epigenetics .   
      
   There are now numerous examples that demonstrate this interesting phenomenon.   
   Recent research has revealed that fermented foods help curb social anxiety   
   disorders in young adults. In a related experiment mice engaged in obsessive   
   repetitive behaviors    
   were pacified when given a strain of the bacterium bacteroids fragilis.   
   Additionally gut bacteria actually produces mood-boosting neurotransmitters   
   like serotonin and dopamine in concentrations even greater than in the brain.   
      
   Because of these discoveries scientists are now focusing on diet as a primary   
   method of treating mental illness and are seriously considering the   
   possibility that it may play a primary role in causing  mental illness.   
   Through these new realms of research,   
    a number of food ingredients have now been shown to exacerbate depression.   
   The number one culprit is refined sugar and processed fructose, both of which   
   feed pathogens in the gut enabling them to overpower beneficial bacteria.   
      
   The link between sugars and chronic inflammation are already clear.  When   
   sugar is consumed a cascade of chemical reactions in the body follow, which   
   disrupt both the immune system and the brain.   
      
   There are of course numerous other processed foods that can contribute to   
   depression including artificial food additives and in some cases even gluten.   
   A few studies have actually been able to correlate gluten sensitivity to   
   serious mental health    
   problems like schizophrenia.   
      
   When considering the microbiome it's important to remember that bacterial   
   cells outnumber the cells in the body ten to one. All of them have   
   specifically evolved to assist our body's in performing their vital tasks.   
   Consequently eating foods that promote    
   their health will in turn promote the health of the body and mind.   
      
   With mounting evidence that the microbiome plays a significant role in mental   
   health the foundations of psychiatric care are being challenged. Where   
   antidepressants have been the standard model used to treat emotional illness   
   it may actually be an    
   holistic approach which will ultimately prove more effective in the fight   
   against depression.   
      
   The new focus on gut health is a welcome departure from synthetic drugs. The   
   New York Times said the following:   
      
   "Anxiety, depression, and several pediatric disorders, including autism and   
   hyperactivity, have been linked with gastrointestinal abnormalities. Microbial   
   transplants were not invasive brain surgery, and that was the point: Changing   
   a patient's bacteria    
   might be difficult but it still seemed more straightforward than altering his   
   genes. When Lyte began his work on the link between microbes and the brain   
   three decades ago, it was dismissed as a curiosity.   
      
   By contrast, last September, the National Institute of Mental Health awarded   
   four grants worth up to $1 million each to spur new research on the gut   
   microbiome's role in mental disorders, affirming the legitimacy of a field   
   that had long struggled to    
   attract serious scientific credibility... It seems plausible, if not yet   
   proved, that we might one day use microbes to diagnose neurodevelopmental   
   disorders, treat mental illnesses and perhaps even fix them in the brain."   
      
   All of this should make it clear that diet has an incredible impact on both   
   the body and the brain. Perhaps time will vindicate the claim that eating   
   whole foods is the best and most natural way to support mental health.   
      
   1.http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/836260_4   
      
   mental health, nutrition, Depression, Microbiome   
      
      
      
      
   http://nielsenholistic.com/2015/08/28/the-microbiome-depression/   
      
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