From: judgeparker23x@gmail.com   
      
   Vitality   
   High Stress Environments May Lead To Unhealthy Gut Microbiomes: How To Protect   
   Yourself From The Consequences   
   Jan 6, 2016 07:22 PM   
   By Lecia Bushak   
    squirrel   
      
      
   A new study in squirrels found that higher stress levels caused gut   
   microbiomes to be unhealthier. Pixabay, public domain   
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   Many things, primarily diet, can impact our gut microbiomes -- and in return,   
   our gut microbiomes can play a large role in influencing our chances of   
   developing obesity, cancer, and even mental health issues. Our bodies require   
   a diverse array of "good    
   bacteria" in order to thrive, as they can impact everything from our brains to   
   our hearts.   
      
   In addition to eating a healthy diet with the occasional probiotic-rich food   
   such as yogurt or kombucha, new research suggests that managing stress can   
   also play a major role in maintaining a healthy microbiome. The study,   
   published in the journal    
   Biology Letters, examined squirrel microbiomes in addition to their stress   
   hormones, and found that squirrels with more diverse gut bacteria (typically a   
   sign of good health) were less stressed than squirrels with unhealthy   
   microbiomes.   
      
   "A diverse microbiome is generally a good thing for your health -- it's why   
   people take probiotics," Mason Stothart, a former student in the Department of   
   Integrative Biology at the University of Guelph in Canada, said in the press   
   release. "We wanted to    
   understand the relationship between the microbiome and stress. The greater the   
   stress in the squirrels, the less bacterial diversity they had, which can be   
   an indicator of poor health."   
      
      
   The researchers captured squirrels in Algonquin Park in Ontario, Canada, then   
   took mouth swabs and fecal samples to measure their gut bacteria and stress   
   levels. They also completed a second experiment in which they found the same   
   squirrels two weeks    
   later, and measured their stress hormone levels once again. During this second   
   measurement, the researchers found that squirrels that had higher stress   
   levels also had more "bad bacteria."   
      
   "This is the first demonstration that there is a link between stress and   
   microbiome diversity in the wild," Amy Newman, senior author of the study,   
   said in the press release. "Conducing this study in a natural environment   
   provides a more realistic look    
   at the microbiome and its potential link to stress and health."   
      
   The study was done with squirrels, so it would likely need to be repeated   
   again in humans before forming any conclusions. However, it provides   
   information that we can keep in mind as we navigate an often stressful world.   
      
      
   Stress has been found to have a profound effect on pretty much every part of   
   your body. Not only does it contribute to anxiety, depression, and other   
   mental health problems, but it can increase your chances of chronic diseases   
   like heart disease, obesity,   
    diabetes, and even cancer. It's not surprising, then, that an imbalanced   
   microbiome is also the consequence of a stressful lifestyle. And it shouldn't   
   be that surprising that stress and bacteria are deeply linked. One recent   
   study found that pregnant    
   women who were under a lot of stress were actually found to transfer the   
   negative effects of stress onto their children -- through their vaginal   
   microbiota.   
      
   So how can you reduce your stress levels to combat all of these long-term   
   health issues? Focusing on plenty of sleep, a healthy diet, and exercise can   
   begin to take away some of the edge of anxiety. And it never hurts to try a   
   form of meditation and    
   mindfulness (whether that's sitting quietly, journaling, doing yoga, praying,   
   or emptying your mind of racing thoughts), as research has shown continuously   
   that it can lower stress and depression.   
      
   Source: Stothart M, Bobbie C, Schulte-Hostedde A, Boonstra R, Palme R,   
   Mykytczuk N. Stress and the microbiome: linking glucocorticoids to bacterial   
   community dynamics in wild red squirrels. Biology Letters, 2016.   
      
      
      
   http://www.medicaldaily.com/high-stress-environments-may-lead-un   
   ealthy-gut-microbiomes-how-protect-yourself-368280   
      
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