UCC study: high-fiber foods reduce the effects of stress

Eating high fiber foods can reduce the effects of stress on our gut and behavior, it appeared.

has developed in recent years in the link between intestinal bacteria and stress-related disorders, including anxiety, depression, and irritable bowel syndrome. Bacteria in the intestine produce short-chain fatty acids, the main source of nutrition for cells in this part of the body. Foods such as grains, legumes and vegetables contain high levels of fiber and will stimulate the production of these short chain fatty acids.

The study was conducted by scientists from APC Microbiome Ireland at University College Cork and at the Teagasc Food Research Center. There was a decrease in stress levels and anxious behavior when short chain fatty acids were produced

The stress felt for a long time can affect the bowel by making the barrier between l? intestine and the rest of the body.

This means that undigested food particles, bacteria and germs will pass through the leaky lining of the bloodstream and cause persistent inflammation.

Treatment with short chain fatty acids may reverse this leak. Developing dietary treatments that target bacteria will be important for the treatment of stress-related disorders.

The study was published in The Journal of Physiology. It consisted of feeding the mice the main short-chain fatty acids normally produced by the intestinal bacteria, and then subjecting them to stress.

Behavioral tests were used to assess anxiety and depressive behavior, stress sensitivity, cognition and sociability.

The exact mechanisms by which short-chain fatty acids facilitate their effect remain undetermined.

The lead author of the research, John Cryan, said that they had been showing for some time that microbes in the gut were really important for brain health and stress.

Scientists have begun testing human short-chain fatty acids to see if they can be delivered in different ways. A recent British study showed how they got to the brain.