You don’t have to be anxious or in pain.

Are you in pain and anxious?

Anxiety seems to be a common problem in our modern society and there are likely to be many factors that lead us to feel anxious and aggravate those feelings. One of the known causes of anxiety is a thing called DYSBIOSIS." an imbalance between the types of organism present in a person's natural microflora, especially that of the gut, thought to contribute to a range of conditions of ill health."So if the balance of bacteria and other microbes in your gut, sometimes known as your 'microbiome' is off then you are more likely to feel anxious. And if that wasn't bad enough you are also going to be experiencing low-grade chronic inflammation in your nervous system (brain and nerves) making you more sensitive to PAIN.

Your gut talks to your brain

This communication happens via the Vagus Nerve, a nerve that exits the brain through a hole in the bottom of the skull and connects (talks) to most of your internal organs, they in turn talk back to the brain. But what do they say?If your gut is dominated by 'Bad' bacteria then your gut is roughly saying this;

  • "HELP! there's too many Bad Guys down here, ACTIVATE THE IMMUNE SYSTEM. Please?"

  • A sustained low grade Inflammatory response will occur first in the gut but then in the whole body.

  • The brain ramps up it's Immune System to make sure no 'Bad' bacteria attacks it.

  • Low Grade and Persistent Inflammation of the Brain and Nervous System (Neuro-Inflammation).

  • Ouch!

What happens next?

One of the consequences of Neuro-Inflammation is that the normal volume of neuro-transmitter pathways (chemicals that make communication in the nervous system possible) are turned down. One hormone in particular that gets reduced is called Serotonin and is also known as the HAPPY HORMONE. Here is what www.hormone.org says about it;

"Serotonin is the key hormone that stabilizes our mood, feelings of well-being, and happiness. This hormone impacts your entire body. It enables brain cells and other nervous system cells to communicate with each other. Serotonin also helps with sleeping, eating, and digestion."

Sounds pretty useful right? There is a whole class of drugs called Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRI's) that can be prescribed to help sufferers of depression. You will probably have heard of Prozac.So reduced Serotonin is linked to a greater chance of feeling depressed. In addition to lower serotonin levels, Neuro-Inflammation also activates another chemical called Quinolinic Acid. This provokes feelings of Hypervigilence otherwise known as Anxiety.

What to do about it?

Remove the 'Bad Bugs" from the gut (and repopulate with the 'Good guys') and Reduced Inflammation is the result. Read on to find out how!

Is there any evidence?

You bet!In a systematic review of the literature into the "Effects of regulating intestinal microbiota on anxiety symptoms" a team of researchers reported 21 studies showing that influencing gut flora with probiotics, prebiotics or dietary modification ie; FODMAP diet, Improved the symptoms of Anxiety in the study groups.

Here is a link to the paper ; https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31179435/

It's worth pointing out that they found better results with dietary modification, that means adopting a diet that eliminates many or all of the food stuffs that you may not tolerate well and that promote the survival of the 'Bad bacteria'. However use of a probiotic supplement to pack your gut with helpful bacteria can be successful in the short term particularly if you have a history of anti-biotic use or know that you've previously had a nasty gastro-intestinal infection.

Action

Try a course of Saccharomyces Boulardii to help rebalance your microbiome, it could be a starting point on the road to reducing your Neuro-Inflammation, reducing your pain levels and feeling less Anxious.

You can buy S. Boulardii here.Some gentle cranial work from us chiropractors to optimise the physical environment around the Vagus Nerve would be a good idea too.For more information about how to use dietary and lifestyle changes to improve how you feel please get in touch on 01962 843242.