Adding probiotics to the diet of people with bipolar disorder would significantly reduce their symptoms.
Probiotics may help people with bipolar disorder, says a new study. Discovered in the last century, probiotics are living micro-organisms present in certain drinks, cereals and dairy products. The WHO defines them as “bacteria or yeasts which, ingested in sufficient quantity, improve the health of the host by balancing the intestinal flora”.
“The Gut-Brain Axis”
It may seem strange that our intestines have a link with psychiatric illnesses, but this is what a lot of research now tends to show. There would be a “gut-brain axis”, which would connect the endocrine, immune and nervous systems. For example, a study recently demonstrated that nitrates used to preserve deli meats such as beef jerky, salami, hot dogs and other processed meat snacks may contribute to triggering mania, the abnormal mood state” high” associated with bipolar disorder.
A group of patients hospitalized for bipolar disorders took part in a 6-month experiment to assess the effects of probiotic treatment on their mood and the state of their immune system.
Less hospitalization time
Some took, in addition to their usual medications, a probiotic supplement or a placebo. The results showed that the group receiving the probiotic supplement did not return to the hospital as quickly as the controls, and required less hospitalization time than the placebo group. The beneficial effects of probiotics were more pronounced in patients who had abnormally high levels of inflammation at the start of the study.
These results indicate that changes in intestinal inflammation can modify the course of psychiatric disorders, and that modulation of the intestinal microbiota could constitute a new therapeutic avenue for patients suffering from these diseases.
An abnormal change in mood
Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder (previously titled: manic-depressive psychosis). It is characterized by an abnormal change in mood: alternating periods of excitement (mania or hypomania) and depression, even deep melancholy, interspersed with periods of stability. The term “bipolar” evokes the two poles mania and depression, between which the mood oscillates.
Classic bipolar disorder affects around 0.4% to 1.6% of the adult population in France in all social categories, i.e. around 600,000 people. Including Types II or III yields significantly higher numbers, up to 7% of the population including the entire bipolar “spectrum”, i.e. all related disorders.
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