Dr. Ted Dinan, MD, PhD. Professor of Psychiatry at University College Cork was interviewed by host of the Anxiety Summit, Trudy Scott, Food Mood Expert and Nutritionist, author of The Antianxiety Food Solution.
Microbes in the gut and psychobiotics as a potential treatment for anxiety and depression
- Varied ways in which anxiety presents
- Anxiety as a co-morbid condition e.g. irritable bowel syndrome
- Microbes in the gut and the influence on emotional activity
- Non-pharmacological approaches to treating anxiety
- Psychobiotics as a potential treatment and the newest research in this area
Here are some snippets from our interview
Now the brain-gut axis is an axis that we learned more about over the decade or 2, how does the brain communicate with the gut, how does the gut communicate with the brain, and the view of irritable bowel syndrome is that it is as I say a brain axis disorder, an exceedingly common disorder, up to at least 50 percent and some studies suggest much higher rates in terms of the presence of psychiatric symptoms in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. The general view is that at least 50 percent of patients with irritable bowel syndrome have a coexistent or comorbid depression or anxiety.
We’re gradually I think learning more about the pathology underlying irritable bowel syndrome and we and others have published a number of studies show that for instance patients with irritable bowel syndrome have high levels of cytokines. Now cytokines are chemicals that are produced by the immune system and there are certain cytokines that are caused pro-inflammatory. They give rise to inflammation or are the product of inflammation. And certainly there is now good evidence that many patients with irritable bowel syndrome do have very high levels of these pro-inflammatory molecules in their blood stream. The molecules would be molecules like interleukin 6 and CNF-alpha.
Here is the quote from Dr. Dinan’s article that was co-written with Dr. John Cryan and called Psychobiotics: How Gut Bacteria Mess with Your Mind
In the 20th century the major focus of microbiological research was on finding ways to kill microbes by antibiotics. This century the focus has changed somewhat with the recognition of the health benefits of bacteria, not just from an immunity perspective but from a mental health one.
Here is some of Dr. Dinan’s research:
co-morbidity with mood disorders such as depression and anxiety is common in IBS
Psychobiotics: a novel class of psychotropic.
Here, we define a psychobiotic as a live organism that, when ingested in adequate amounts, produces a health benefit in patients suffering from psychiatric illness. As a class of probiotic, these bacteria are capable of producing and delivering neuroactive substances such as gamma-aminobutyric acid and serotonin, which act on the brain-gut axis. Preclinical evaluation in rodents suggests that certain psychobiotics possess antidepressant or anxiolytic activity. Effects may be mediated via the vagus nerve, spinal cord, or neuroendocrine systems. So far, psychobiotics have been most extensively studied in a liaison psychiatric setting in patients with irritable bowel syndrome, where positive benefits have been reported for a number of organisms including Bifidobacterium infantis. Evidence is emerging of benefits in alleviating symptoms of depression and in chronic fatigue syndrome. Such benefits may be related to the anti-inflammatory actions of certain psychobiotics and a capacity to reduce hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity. Results from large scale placebo-controlled studies are awaited.
This is the recent resistance training anxiety study I mentioned: The anxiolytic effects of resistance exercise
This research has shown that resistance training at a low-to-moderate intensity (<70% 1 repetition maximum) produces the most reliable and robust decreases in anxiety.
If you are not already registered for the Anxiety Summit you can get live access to the speakers of the day here www.theAnxietySummit.com
Great Information. Would love to hear how we can personally apply some of this info into our lives to get stronger.
Hi Kathy
I’ll be talking about some of this in the final call – how to apply all of this. For starters, eat real whole organic food and add in some fermented foods.
Trudy
Hi Trudy,
GREAT job on this series! I’ve seen a number of these health summits and yours is by far the best!
Only one little thing.. It’d be great to be able to remind a few seconds at a time..instead of having to replay from the very beginning if missed a word..
Thanks so much!
Hi Natalie
So glad you’re enjoying this and so pleased to get that feedback – it means a lot to me!
I think you’re referring to the audio player – just click anywhere on the progress bar (the area that shows a black bar indicating the progress of the replay) to go to where you want to start listening to the audio – see Q8 on the FAQ page http://www.theanxietysummit.com/faq/ – we’ve got you covered!
Trudy
from what is now known in this area, is Prescript Assist Probiotic a superior brand?
Hi Jim
This is not one I’m familiar with but I’m interested to check it out (http://www.prescript-assist.com/products/). Have you used it with good results? Would this be a good topic for the next summit – s deeper dive into probiotic supplements?
I would LOVE to know which probiotics people have used with success. Yes, would be a great topic!!
I use VSL3, and have noticed no effects, unfortunately, and that’s supposed to be a great one. This leads me to believe something else must be going on with my issue…
Thanks for sharing about your VSL3 experience
Great information. I am really enjoying the summit.
Two questions…..several have spoken on fermented food being very beneficial, does this include kombucha? Is one better than another?
Thank you,
Tammy
Looking forward to the rest of the summit!
Hi Tammy
Good stuff! yes, it does include kombucha and homemade would be a good choice. I really like GTs as it’s making kombucha available to the average person who is new to this way of eating. I’ve had a number of clients switch from soda to kombucha. Another option is to look for local sources at farmers markets or local health stores.
Enjoy the rest of the summit!
Trudy
First thank you for arranging these very informative interviews, they are fascinating and helpful. I have had ME/CFS for over 10 years and found the link of early trauma and inflammatory trends new information. Things like this are so helpful in trying to manage an illness where one is pretty much on one’s own. Thanks again.
Hi Margo
You are so welcome! Yes isn’t that early trauma and inflammation connection so interesting. I do hope you get much more out of the coming interviews for your ME/CFS. I commend you for taking your health into your own hands and learning from summits like this – it can’t be easy with ME/CFS.
Trudy
I really enjoyed listening to Dr Dinan. I have a question about something that he mentioned. He said that there were certain probiotics that can generate folate. I was wondering if it was indeed FOLATE not FOLIC ACID as mentioned in this article http://beyondmthfr.com/2014/09/09/mthfr-and-sibo/
FOLIC ACID is detrimental to people who have MTHFR polymorphisms.
Hi CC
I’m going to have to do some more research on this one and get back to you on this one as I don’t have the answer. I may have Dr Dinan comment too
Trudy
What are some recommendations of good quality probiotics for the gut that are dairy and gluten free? Great information in both of the talks. What are also some thoughts on gluten free grains vs. doing a Paleo type of diet? Does it help to be grain free?
Jennifer
Glad you enjoyed these talks. Many people do really well on a grain-free diet, some need a small amount of gluten-free grains.
I like some of the Designs for Health probiotics – they are professional grade and I sell them via my online store
Trudy
I thought this would be up through today? I was really looking forward to Dr. Dinan, especially him talking about the role of the vagus nerve, which I was told mine was damaged after gallbladder surgery a year ago. Since that happened I have been struggling daily to find help, answers. No doctors will give me a solid answer. And I won’t take the horrid pills they wanted me on for digestion. I don’t want any more “band aids”. but this is consuming my life…trying to get help. And I later found out the GB was healthy, it shouldn’t have come out 🙁
Hi Dona
Sorry to hear about your gallbladder surgery. I’m not sure what issues you’re having or what you’ve been prescribed – if you share here I could offer some additional resources for you
Trudy
PS. Dr Dinan’s interview didn’t make it into the replays unfortunately.
Does all the talked about subject contend also relate to men suffering anxiety or is the content refered for woman only?
John
Much of it applies to men too. Women have some differences because of cycling hormones, making less serotonin, being caretakers of everyone but themselves (more often than not) etc