More and more studies suggest the link between gut bacteria and mental health. This is called the “gut-brain axis”. A balanced intestinal flora has been associated with good maintenance of the immune and nervous systems as well as an efficient metabolism. New research, published in the review General Psychiatry May 16, go in the same direction. Act on the microbiotaespecially by eating the right foods, could help alleviate the symptoms of anxietyaccording to scientists from the Shanghai Mental Health Center of Shanghai Jiao-tong University (China).
To reach these conclusions, the researchers analyzed 21 existing studies, involving 1,503 volunteers. Some allowed them to examine the effects of probiotics on anxiety, others on the consequences of a change in diet – such as the low FODMAP diet, for example – on the mental health of the participants. In the end, of all the studies, 11 out of 21 showed that an intervention on the microbiota could relieve the disorder. In the 14 reports focusing on probiotics, a third (36%) of people saw an improvement in their anxiety symptoms. On the contrary, modifications in the way of eating (or other methods) proved effective in six out of 7 surveys.
Are probiotics really effective?
“So we can easily see that although we can regulate gut flora in two ways, the non-probiotic intervention is significantly better than the probiotic intervention”, note the authors. They point out, however, that their conclusions are the result of a meta-analysis, and that between the different studies reviewed, anxiety could have been evaluated differently. But they remain optimistic about the progress their work brings.
Because according to their figures, 70% of studies on the subject have shown thatone in three adults will one day be affected by anxiety symptoms During his life. “In the clinical treatment of anxiety symptoms, in addition to the use of psychiatric drugs, we can also consider regulating the gut flora to alleviate anxiety symptoms”, they say. Moreover, it is not the only pathology that could be affected by changes in diet. A study published last year, for example, suggested that the Mediterranean diet could prevent depression.
To read also:
- A link between food additives and anxiety?
- Probiotics, useless or even harmful
- Stress: how the brain affects the gut
