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- The Person You Call “I” is Really “We!”
First, regardless of your feelings on the subject, you can rest easy that this is not yet another article about gender pronouns!
It might surprise you to learn that about half the cells in your body do NOT have your DNA! But don’t worry, this is not a situation like in the movie Alien in which a monster is going to burst out of your chest at some point (probably)! The “not you” cells are what is collectively known as the microbiota (comprised of bacteria, yeasts, etc.) and they’re supposed to be there.
In fact, they’re absolutely necessary to good health in more ways than one. You may be familiar with the importance of gut microbes to good digestive function, but there’s increasing evidence that they are actively involved in neurological and mental health, as well as in controlling inflammation, which in turn has effects on numerous other aspects of physiology.
But how could single-celled organisms do so much – especially with regards to neurological and mental function? One way they do this is by release of various psychoactive and neuroactive compounds, including some neurotransmitters, but they may have an even more direct means of control.
There’s a large nerve that runs between the brain and the gut, known as the vagus nerve. While the chemicals produced by the gut microbes can influence the nerve, there is evidence that they can actually communicate directly with it! And while there is a tendency to think in terms of the vagus as a form of “hard-wired” communication that the brain uses to send messages to the gut, in actuality, about 80% of the nerve signals it carries go the other direction – from the gut to the brain!
This can be good or bad, as not all microbes are normal and beneficial. For example, when a pathogenic (illness-causing) microbe attacks the gastrointestinal tract, immune cells rush into the area to fight the infection, but may also wind up traveling to the brain, resulting in inflammation.
Inflammation in the brain is associated with various mental disorders, such as depression.
But the good news is, this discovery of how much influence the gut has on mental and neurological function is leading to new treatments for these disorders. For example, a treatment known as VNS (Vagus Nerve Stimulation) uses electrodes to stimulate the vagus nerve and is thought by some researchers to mimic the effects of the beneficial gut microbes on the nerve. In any event, VNS helps the gut wall resist the attacks of pathogenic bacteria, leading to reductions in inflammation and depression symptoms associated with it.
VNS is also currently used in the treatment of severe epilepsy and is being investigated as a treatment for other neurological and mental disorders such as ADHD and PTSD.
Research is also underway on the possibility of specific pathogenic microbes (and/or the chemicals they produce) being involved in the development of particular neurological and mental disorders, as well as specific beneficial microbes which may prevent them or reduce their severity.
These interventions are still under investigation and for most people, they won’t be widely available anytime soon.
That said, given what is known so far, I think it makes sense to use a general-purpose probiotic regimen. As more information comes out in this area of study, you can always fine-tune, but a “shotgun approach” to probiotics will probably be useful to some extent.
There’s lots of ways to increase the beneficial microbes in your gut. These range from probiotic capsules to dairy-based probiotic products, to fermented vegetables (sauerkraut, kimchi, etc.).
My personal favorite is kefir, which is a fermented dairy product that is more liquid, but similar in taste to yogurt. I have written about kefir before, and if you’d like to know more about it, you might want to check out this article: https://besthealthandwellness.beehiiv.com/p/one-best-commonly-overlooked-natural-sleep-aids .
Probiotics in pill form are of course easy to use, and they don’t have any taste that some people find off-putting. That said, food-based sources often have a much greater variety of beneficial microbes, so if you can and will regularly get probiotics from food, that’s probably a better way to go. If you go with the pills, I suggest looking for ones with a relatively broad spectrum of different microbes (generally, these will be the more expensive ones).
One thing to bear in mind with food sources of probiotics is that you want something with live, active microbes. Unfortunately, some potentially excellent probiotics are rendered essentially worthless because they’re pasteurized after the microbial colonies form. This is particularly common with sauerkraut and kimchi bought in a “regular” grocery store. Dairy-based probiotice like yogurt and kefir are typically made with pasteurized dairy, but active probiotic cultures are often added after the pasteurization (look for words like “live, active cultures” on the product labels).
It also helps to eat a diet that is supportive of a healthy gut microbiome. In particular, sugar and refined carbohydrates should be kept to a minimum, whereas eating plenty of fresh vegetables is encouraged. It’s a good idea to limit the consumption of alcohol and tobacco products as well.
While it may be a bit disconcerting to think about how much of you is not actually you, it’s nice to know that the vast numbers of “not-you” cells are mostly on your side and may be doing far more than you know to help you live a healthy life!
Until next time…
George F. Best, D.C.