February 13, 2017.
A diet rich in prebiotics would help to better manage stress on a daily basis. American researchers have just published the conclusions of a study on the subject.
Prebiotics, essential for the proper functioning of the intestinal microbiota
Overcoming a stressful event can have many consequences on health and it is sometimes difficult to get back to sleep after having lived through difficult times. When these can be anticipated, there are many ways to help your body to rebalance itself and, among them, prebiotics could play a very beneficial role.
American researchers are interested in the role of bacteria in the intestinal microbiota in stress management and the influence of prebiotics, these natural fibers found in certain foods such as artichoke, garlic, onion, asparagus or chicory and which participate in the proper functioning of bacteria in the body.
Prebiotics would help to regain sleep
” Acute stress can disrupt the gut microbiota », Explains Dr Agnieszka Mika, co-author of the study. ” We wanted to test whether a diet rich in prebiotics would increase beneficial bacteria while protecting the intestinal flora stress-induced disturbances. We also wanted to examine the effects of prebiotics on the recovery of sleep habits, which tend to be disrupted after stressful events “.
To support their hypothesis, these researchers therefore used two groups of rodents. The first received a course of prebiotics for a few weeks, while the second received a regular diet. At the end of this first phase, the two groups were subjected to a stressful event, similar to that of the death of a loved one in humans.. Conclusion after observing the consequences of this episode on the two groups of mice: those which had benefited from prebiotics recovered more quickly from this stress and, in particular, found normal sleep fairly quickly, unlike members of the second group.
Sybille Latour
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