Recently, professor Dai Wenxin, director of the Multidisciplinary Diagnosis and Treatment Center for Geriatrics at Hainan Chengmei Hospital, expert in the treatment of gut microbiota, gave an in-depth explanation on the close ties between gut microbiota and emotional health.
“Emotion tuner” in our gut
Professor Dai Wenxin said that the digestive tract in human body was an amazing system with about 600 million neurons, known as the “second brain”. Information is transmitted between the “second brain” and the main brain through the “gut-brain axis”, forming a complex and subtle network of connections. Gut microbiota plays a crucial role in this network. They are not only strikingly numerous and diverse, but also have an impact on the emotional regulation center of the brain by generating various signaling molecules, such as cytokines, gut hormones, etc.
Professor Dai Wenxin figuratively said, “Gut microbiota are like ‘emotional tuner’ in the gut, and their changes can directly affect our emotional state.” According to research findings, our bodys vagus nerve responds to signals generated by the gut microbiota, which further affects the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, thereby regulating our bodys emotional experience.
Regulating gut microbiota can help improve emotional health
So how can we improve our emotional health by regulating our gut microbiota? Professor Dai Wenxin offered the following advice:
First, dietary adjustments are crucial. Increasing fiber-rich food, such as whole grains, vegetables, and fruits, can help promote intestinal peristalsis and maintain the balance of gut microbiota. Meanwhile, avoiding excessive intake of high-sugar, high-fat and processed food can reduce the negative impact on gut microbiota.
Second, it is also important to keep good living habits. These habits, such as regular schedule, moderate exercise, adequate sleep, can all help maintain gut health. They can not only promote intestinal peristalsis, but also enhance immunity as well as reduce intestinal inflammation.
Furthermore, supplementing probiotics and prebiotics is also an effective way to regulate gut microbiota. Probiotics can help increase beneficial gut bacteria and inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria; as “food” for probiotics, prebiotics can help promote their reproduction and growth.
For those who already have emotional problems, such as depression, anxiety, professor Dai Wenxin said, “In addition to traditional drug therapy and psychotherapy, we can try to transplant the gut microbiota of a healthy person into the patients gut through novel treatments, such as FMT (fecal microbiota transplantation), which helps recover the balance of gut microbiota, thereby improving emotional symptoms.”
Experts’ reminder
Professor Dai Wenxin reminded, “Paying attention to gut health is concerning about emotional health.” To maintain physical and mental health, we should pay attention to dietary adjustments, improvement of living habits and regulation of gut microbiota in our daily life.
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Editor | Huang Fei