Biology Talk

rpautrey2 · Guest

NaturalNews.com
Originally published July 24 2006

Probiotics Ease Gut Problems Caused by Long Term Stress (press
release)
by NaturalNews

Probiotics may help to reduce gut symptoms caused by long term stress,
indicates research published ahead of print in the journal Gut.
The researchers base their findings on analysis of gut tissue taken
from rats subjected to either water avoidance stress, which involves
placing the rat on a small platform surrounded by water, or sham
stress for one hour a day for 10 consecutive days.

The stress sessions were designed to mimic psychological stress to
produce the type of effects that would be seen in the human gut.

Half the rats were fed drinking water containing probiotic bacteria in
the form of Lactobacillus helveticus and Lactobacillus rhamnosus for a
period of seven days before and during the stress sessions.

Unlike sham stress, brief but repeated water deprivation made the gut
“leaky” and boosted the adherence of harmful bacteria to the cells
lining the gut wall.

Bacteria were also detected in the mesenteric lymph nodes, which drain
fluid coming from the intestine, indicating that bacteria had entered
the body and activated the immune system.

However, probiotic treatment minimised the changes in chemical
signalling and prevented bacterial “stickiness” and movement to the
mesenteric lymph nodes.

Chronic stress is known to be implicated in the development of
irritable bowel syndrome and in the worsening of symptoms of
inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative
colitis. It also sensitises the gut, producing allergies to certain
foodstuffs.

The authors say that probiotics literally compete for space with
harmful bacteria and dampen down inflammatory responses, and as such,
offer a potentially promising approach to the management of intestinal
problems caused by stress.

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