有一天，益生菌可能用于治疗抑郁症

 

你所吃的东西对你情绪的影响非常重要。富含益生菌的饮食帮助你在自己的消化道里增殖健康细菌，还能提升你的消化道健康和免疫系统。现在越来越多的强有力证据还显示，肠道细菌可能对大脑功能和心理健康产生重要影响。益生菌是一些寄生在你的肠道里的活细菌，还包括一些食品中培养起来的微生物，比如酸奶、昆布茶、酸泡菜、韩国辣白菜以及开菲儿乳制品等。科学家发现这些好细菌不仅提升消化和免疫力，还能影响心理健康。

曾一度被认为是无稽之谈的想法，已经被越来越多的科学家开始发掘益生菌及益生元，治疗焦虑、抑郁和其他心理健康问题。在一项新的小范围调查中，莱顿大学研究人员的发现支持这一推论：他们报告表明，在40名健康受试者中，接受四个星期益生菌治疗后，消极的想法和感受减少了。

研究人员还不知道为什么益生菌能减少悲伤情绪，但知道微生物增加了色氨酸的水平，它们参与神经系统和情绪调控，并可在肠道中找到。“毫无疑问，需要进行进一步的研究，”该研究的第一作者, 莱顿大学的Lorenza Colzato博士通过电子邮件告知《赫芬顿邮报》，“希望补充益生菌能成为一个潜在的、有效的预防抑郁症手段。”

肠道中促进健康的微生物还有治疗焦虑症的功能。最近剑桥大学的神经科学家发现一种小分子益生元，作为一个不能消化的膳食纤维，却是肠道好细菌的食物，并且它有抗焦虑作用和降低患者因不好的刺激所产生的负面反应。

菲利普·伯内特博士告诉《赫芬顿邮报》，“微生物也可以用在有代谢问题或营养问题并发症的、长期使用流行药物的精神疾病患者中。“莱顿大学的研究结果发表在《大脑、行为和免疫力》

Probiotics May One Day Be Used To TreatDepression

What you eat can have a major impact on howyou feel emotionally.

A diet rich in probiotics — which supportthe growth of “healthy” bacteria in the gut — is known to boost digestivehealth and can even improve a person’s immune system. But now an increasinglyrobust body of evidence suggests that gut bacteria may exert a significanteffect on brain function and mental health.

Probiotics are live bacteria and yeast thatcan be found in your body, as well as in supplements and foods fermented withlive active cultures such as some yogurts, kombucha, sauerkraut, kimchi, andkefir. These “good” bacteria are known to promote digestive and immune health,and researchers are discovering that they may support mental health as well.

Once considered a fringe idea, a growingnumber of scientists have become interested in probiotics and prebiotics aspotential treatments for anxiety, depression and other mental health problems.And in a small, new study at Leiden University, researchers found additionalsupport for the idea: they report that among 40 healthy subjects, those whounderwent four weeks of probiotic treatment showed a decrease in negativethoughts and feelings.

The researchers don’t yet know howprobiotics reduce sad mood, but it’s possible that they increase levels ofplasma tryptophan, a key neurochemical involved in mood, which can be found inthe gut.

“Unquestionably, further research needs tobe carried out,” the study’s lead author, Dr. Lorenza Colzato of LeidenUniversity, told The Huffington Post in an email. “But the hope is thatprobiotics supplementation may work as a potential and effective preventivestrategy for depression.”

Boosting healthy bacteria in the gut mayalso be an effective way to treat anxiety. In a recent study, neuroscientistsat Cambridge University found a short course of prebiotics — non-digestibledietary fiber that act as food for good bacteria — to have an anti-anxietyeffect, lessening study subjects’ emotional responses to negative stimuli.

“It is likely that these compounds willhelp to manage mental illness,” the study’s lead author, Oxford neurobiologistDr. Philip Burnet, told The Huffington Post in January. “They may also be usedwhen there are metabolic and/or nutritional complications in mental illness,which may be caused by long-term use of current drugs.”

Leiden University’s findings were publishedin the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity.