Feature
ESSENTIAL Naples
The Link between
Gut Health and Depression By Dr. Melissa MacVenn, MD
SPRING 2022
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astrointestinal issues are like fingerprints: commonplace, but very individualized. Symptoms, diet, levels of stress, and medical history all play a significant role in determining not only what a patient’s GI concerns are, but also how to treat the issues they’re experiencing. The standard American diet can include too many cheeseburger-and-a-beer evenings—not great for digestive health. Fortunately, though, recently we have been hearing a lot about the significance of diet and of what we’ve learned to call “gut health.” The buzz around gut health, however, can also bring skepticism. Not all treatment innovations fulfill their promises, and the subject of personal health pulls promotional attention like a magnet pulls in iron filings. For example, a British Medical Journal study of more than 800 news articles about gut health and probiotics in the popular press found lots of rah-rah, but very little discussion of the limits of what we know on this subject. Careful considerations such as which treatments don’t really work were also quite rare.
Approaching Gut Health Holistically
New, holistic approaches that reach beyond traditional medicine do build credibility in the research literature and in medical practice over time. Gut health has earned some of the popular attention it’s receiving—this relatively new field has already yielded substantial and helpful research findings. The mix of thousands of different species of
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bacteria, viruses, and other microbiota really can generate greater or lesser digestive health—and they can be a regulator of inflammation throughout the body. A recent overview of research in the science journal Nutrients concludes, “The gut microbiome plays an important role in human health and influences the development of chronic diseases ranging from metabolic disease to gastrointestinal disorders and colorectal cancer. The health of this complex gut ecosystem has implications for various conditions including obesity, diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, depression, and cardiovascular disease,” the authors summarize. Wait—depression? There is a surprising link between gut health and psychological balance that anyone who has experienced stress-connected stomach issues can testify to. The nervous system that lines your digestive tract, sometimes called your “second brain,” can play a role in your psychological outlook as well as your physical health.
Good Bacteria in Fermented Foods
In the last few months, a research report from the Stanford Medical School, published in the journal Cell, points to dietary changes that can have strong positive impacts. The focus of the study was fermented foods. Eating foods such as yogurt, kefir, fermented cottage cheese, kimchi and other fermented vegetables, vegetable brine drinks, and kombucha tea led to an increase in
3/18/22 10:38 AM
