Probiotics for Anxiety Lactobacillus Rhamnosus

Gut bacteria can change the neurotransmitters (brain chemicals) in the body, because certain gut bacteria thermselves manufacture certain neurotransmitters. Some probiotics have a great effect in reducing anxiety. Another way gut bacteria works to reduce anxiety is by sercreting certain chemical messengers called cytokines that change the immune system/nervous system response. This is called psychoneuroimmunology. Photo Credit Niaid

Lactobacillus Rhamnosus and GABA

GABA is a great neurotransmitter. It is the OFF switch of the nervous system and patients with anxiety often do not have enough GABA, or they have too much other excitatory neurotransmitters. GABA helps a person settle down, feel calm, feel safe and stop the fight and flight response. Certain prescription medications that affect the GABA pathway include Klonopin, Xanax, Valium, and Gabapentin. But these medications are often addictive and have unwanted side effects. It’s best that your body makes it’s own GABA. The probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus makes GABA. L rhamnosus can be a GABA making machine in the body if a patient has enough of this strain in their gut. 

An animal study shows that treatment with L rhamnosus decreased activity in the hippocampus, amygdala and local coeruleus.

1. The hypocampus is associated with long term memory, spacial relationship, and behavioral inhibition. Excessively active activity such as over firing in the hypocampus or inflammation can affect the above

2. The amygdala associates the 5 senses with emotions. Overactive function may ingrain more traumas such as in PTSD or excessive negative emotional associations with events, smells, sights, people etc.

3. The local coeruleus  is the part of brain involved in stress and panic. It Secretes adrenaline. 

Lactobacillus rhamnosus also reduced the stress response associated with cortisol. Therefore supplementation with L. rhamnosus is promising for supporting the body in making more GABA via the bacteria producing it. 

Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Inflammation

Too much inflammation in the brain is not good and can contribute to anxiety. We are not referring to the type of inflammation like a concussion, but chronic oxidative stress to the nervous system. Patients with higher levels of inflammation in the body such as those with autoimmune diseases, allergies, aches and pains are more likely to also have more inflammation in their nervous system. Anxiety, depression, and memory loss are definite symptoms that indicate an increased inflammatory response in the brain. 

Think of increased inflammation in the brain as increased firing of neurons. Think of an electric cord with too much electricity going through it that it blows the fuse. GABA helps to slow down this rapid firing and regulate it back down to normal. 

A study shows that Lactobacillus rhamnosus inhibits the inflammatory response by increasing IL-10 levels. IL-10 is an anti-inflammatory cytokine and helps to shut down the T cell response after infections or stressors. If there is not enough IL-10, inflammation can extend long after it is needed, resulting in chronic inflammation. L. rhamnosus probiotic can help support healthy levels of IL-10.

Psychobiotics

Lactobacillus Rhamnosus is a psychobiotic. A psychobiotic is a live organism (probiotic) that when ingested in a certain amount produces a health benefit in patients suffering from psychological disorders. How does this work? The gut bacteria influence the vagus nerve which communicates with the brain. The vagus nerve is the longest cranial nerve, exiting the brain and reaching all the way to the intestinal tract. This nerve channels the communication between the brain and the gut. I use a product, Ultra Flora Women's by Metagenics with my patients which contains L. Rhamnosus. 

Testing for Intestinal Inflammation

There's definitely something not right with your stomach or intestines but your doctor cannot find anything. You've been tested for parasites, fecal occult blood, even done a colonoscopy. Nothing! 

You wonder if you have IBS, SIBO, hidden food allergies, a more serious issue? You've heard of "leaky gut", but what is that? What going on in your gut and how can you fix it.

Sometimes silent and chronic inflammation can be going on in your intestinal tract without you knowing it. There are diseases such as Ulcerative Colitis and Chrohn's Disease that are named inflammatory bowel diseases. However you can have inflammation in your gut, that has not reached the severity of these diseases to be diagnosed as such. There is a way to find out if that is going on, and if the inflammation may be from more of an origin of SIBO (or dysbiosis in the gut), or if the inflammation stems more from hidden allergens.

Click Here to read the article I wrote for the NaturalPath Publications that discusses in depth the 2 stool tests for intestinal inflammation. The 2 tests are Calprotectin and Eosinophil Protein X. This is something very easy to run for my patients and can give some insight to help us narrow down a treatment. Click Here for More Information. 

Click Here to Contact Dr. Emily Chan 

What Molecule Increases Leaky Gut?

I had a patient who had to wait till around lunch time to leave the house because he would have 4-5 urgent bowel movements in the morning. His intestines chained him to his house because he couldn't be sure how quickly he could find a bathroom to pull over the car, should he leave home. This affected work and social life. Now many of you may not have symptoms as severe as this, but may be plagued with bloating, multiple food sensitivities, or a very reactive GI tract where there is no rhyme or reason to when your gut may act up.Photo Credit Ed Uthman

I worked on the principles of healing his intestinal barrier, repopulating proper microbiome, and reducing inflammation. And the patient I mentioned above longer had urgency to stool, was able to go to work at a normal time and resume social activities with friends. 

The symptoms described above are some of the symptoms associated with "Leaky Gut". I have the priviledge to be one of the writers for the NaturalPath Publications and you can see the full article about The One Molecule That Causes Leaky Gut Here.

We will discuss:

• What Molecule is associated with Leaky Gut
• Zonulin
• What Increases that Molecule (Transglutaminase, Nano Particles)
• Where they are found and how to avoid them
• Secretory IgA 
• How to Fix Leaky Gut 

Click Here for more information. 

GUT-BRAIN Connection. Can My Gut Affect My Brain?

I had a teacher see me for memory issues and fatigue. She had a very difficult time:

• focusing
• remembering new information
• making decisions 
• staying on top of her tasks
• experienced brain fog and extreme tiredness. 

Her brain symptoms and difficulty concentrating were so severe that she needed her partner to help her fill out the health history form. She is relatively too young for age related dementia, so what was causing this?

Photo Credit Taylor Maley

Well it turns out this patient also has some digestive problems that new research shows can contribute to the brain symptoms. John Hopkins Center for Neurogastroenterology conducts research about how the Enteric Nervous System is key to the Gut and Brain relationship. This connection was important to my patient’s recovery. So what is the enteric nervous system? 

The brain is controlled by two nervous systems, one is controlled by your brain (CNS Central Nervous System), the other is the Enteric Nervous System (ENS) which works separate from the brain. Think of it as a thin 100 million nerve cell network that coats your entire GI tract and sends “walkie-talkie” messages, commanding the GI tract to secrete enzymes, digest food, interact with microbes in the gut etc. What happens in the gut is then reported to the CNS (brain). So both the ENS (gut-brain) and CNS (brain-brain) talk to each other. 

I’ve observed patients with GI problems often have more issues with mood, such as anxiety, stress and depression. I’ve also seen patient’s who often report that stress or emotions will worsen their GI problems.

So is it the chicken or the egg? BOTH.

The good news is that research is backing up the gut-brain relationship. Signals from a patients gut with GI issues are more inflammatory than those who are healthy. This explains how inflammatory chemicals can alter their brain chemistry. 

A Harvard Medical School article links stress with increased perception of pain. On the flip side, the article also links patients with GI disorders with increased perception of pain. So perhaps both these issues alter the ENS (gut-brain) and CNS (brain-brain) causing disregulation in pain perception both emotionally as well as physically.

There are two things that you can do at home that can calm down your ENS (Enteric Nervous System): 

• Deep Belly Breathing (tells mechanoreceptors in diaphragm to communicate with vagus nerve to calm your stomach and stress down)
• Applying gentle heat to the belly (tells temperature receptors to relax muscles in the gut, if you feel like it is all tensed up in a knott).  

In my practice, I use advanced techniques that help to put the nervous system back in balance, like adjusting the dials on the stereo to the correct volume. These work deeply to release an old body memory stored out of compensation from a previous stressor (physical or emotional) and are specific to re-wiring your nervous system set points. You'll know you need re-setting especially if you've felt, "I was feeling fine until...".

My patient stopped her marathon 2 hr naps, was able to prepare her lessons as a teacher and said she had a much clearer mind after working together on healing her gut. If you are suffering from GI symptoms or Brain issues, please contact me and I would be happy to help you, or point you in the right direction. Stay tuned for Part II of the Gut-Brain connection in a few weeks. 

I Feel Bloated Even After Drinking a Sip of Water

Why do I bloat within minutes of drinking water?

Why do I bloat after eating a bite of food, before the food even reaches the gut?

These are questions some of my patients have asked. So what triggers the bloating? It turns out when mechanoreceptors (pressure receptors) in the gut are triggered; the nervous system sends a message to the intestines via the Vagus nerve. The message can change the peristalsis (contraction) of the colon creating bloating or a full feeling. Photo Credit Robert McDonald

Secondly, a problematic communication in the nervous system can mess up the water exchange in the colon, resulting in a fluid bloat. Lastly, the nervous system talks back and forth with the bacteria in our colon. A stressed nervous system induces the bacteria in your gut to produce methane, giving off gas (gas bloat/flatulence). 

If the receptors (sensors) are too sensitive, even a small amount of pressure from water can trigger the mechanoreceptors. There are other receptors also, that can detect food sensitivities. When an allergic food touches the mouth, a signal is triggered before the food ever reaches the intestines. This is why there is a reaction before the water or food ever reaches the gut. 

So what causes receptors to be too sensitive? When the nervous system is too sensitive, it generally indicates a favoring of the sympathetic (STRESS) nervous system over the parasympathetic (RELAX) nervous system, which is not helpful to the situation. The body can be locked into a permanent fight and flight response (STRESS). Some people are aware of being in a prolonged fight and flight response, some do not know any different because it’s been dysfunctional for so long. 

Stressors increase the machinery in the body that makes you feel bloated. What exactly is a stressor? Some stressors can be PHYSICAL; such as infection, poor diet, lack of rest, overwork, and chronic illness. Some stressors can be EMOTIONAL, such as worry, overthinking, being in a rush, strained relationships, financial stress, not feeling safe, and negative thoughts. 

If you’ve already tried different diets for you GI symptoms and still feel bloated, a solution that is often overlooked are treatments that are geared towards balancing the set point of the nervous system. The nervous system controls many functions of the GI tract via the enteric nerves and the vagus nerve. Depending on your specific situation, I may use chinese herbs, supplements, IL-10 modulating products, homeopathic remedies that balance the nervous system in addition to NET (neuro emotional technique). Addressing the nervous system has helped many of my patients who have felt stuck and frustrated with their gut, and allowed them to stop feeling bloated even after drinking a small amount of water and relieved IBS or other GI problems.