Worn down by stress? Bacteria to the rescue!

If you feel overworked, slammed and out of breath, you are not alone. No less than one quarter of Canadians aged 15 and older reported that most days were quite stressful or extremely stressful¹. There are many consequences of stress on health, including heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure, as well as complications related to the immune system and the circulatory system¹. A true and merciless societal curse…

The Other Brain or When Stress Gets to Your Guts

The brain and the intestines are intimately connected by a real motorway of neural connections. The researchers showed that in case of stress, there is more intestinal permeability which promotes the passage of lipopolysaccharides in the bloodstream. The effect is twofold, since an imbalance of the mocrobiota, that is to say the intestinal flora, leads to a disproportionate reaction to stress.

Natural Anti-Stress Remedy

In response to acute stress, probiotic supplements reduce the production of cortisol (stress hormone) and alleviate anxiety. Studies suggest that the Bifidobacterium longum bacterial strain has beneficial effects on stress-related behaviours, physiology and cognitive performance in mice^{2, 3}. The probiotics are recognized as «psychobiotics», that is to say as living organisms that, when ingested in sufficient quantities, produce benefits for people with mental health problems and those living in stressful life situations⁴.

REFERENCES

1 Statistique Canada [Site web]. Consulté le 30 mai 2017. http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-625-x/2015001/article/14188-fra.htm

2 Society for Neuroscience 2015 Annual Meeting. Abstract 162.04. Presenté le 18 octobre 2015.

3 Savignac HM, Kiely B et al. Bifidobacteria exert strain-specific effects on stress-related behavior and physiology in BALB/c mice. Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2014 Nov; 26(11): 1615-27.

4  Dinant TG, Stanton C et Cryan JF. Psychobiotics : a novel class of psychotropic. Biol Psychiatry. 2013 Nov; 74(10): 720-6.