Study Takeaways: Gut Microbiome and Depression

Takeaways from “Gut Microbiome and Depression: How Microbes Affect the Way We Think.”

• “In depression, there is also dysregulation of the neuroendocrine and neuroimmune pathways. More than 20% of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) patients have sleep disturbances and depressed behaviors. By acknowledging that inflammation affects the brain and how one thinks, treatments addressing this phenomenon have grown its popularity in IBD patients and healthy populations.”

While studying the relationship between the microbiome (the gut-brain relationship) is relatively new, it is becoming more and more accepted and acknowledged that there is a relationship between the health of our guts and the way that we think and perceive the world around us. A goal with Skinny Up!® products is to reduce the amount of inflammation in the body, specifically in the gut, by offering highly nutritious food and quality supplementation. Skinny Up!® Yeast Redux, in particular, is designed to address candida yeast overgrowth in the gut, cutting of sugar cravings at the source, and reducing inflammation levels throughout the entire body.

• “Any permutations in the gut microbiome composition trigger microbial lipopolysaccharides (LPS) production. It, in turn, activates inflammatory responses. Cytokines send signals to the vagus nerve, which links the process to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis that consequently cause behavioral effects. Another school of thought suggest that the gastrointestinal (GI) tract’s inflammation leads to neuroinflammation. It then fuels microglial action and triggers the kynurenine pathway. All these processes induce depression. In human studies, evidence of changes in microflora and depression. The bidirectional connection between gut microflora and depression has been well reinforced by research.”

Let’s break down a few of these terms… Permutations refer to the arrangement of the microbiome in a definitive order. So when this order changes in any way, things get off and trigger LPS production. The vagus nerve is a cranial (brain) nerve that controls many of the parasympathetic responses. This means that this nerve helps to control the heart, kidneys, digestive tract and how they operate within the body. When this nerve is incorrectly signaled, the body still responds and can produce depression.

It is, therefore, critical that we address this issue and create an intestinal environment that will breed health. If the gut microflora affects depression, and depression affects the gut microflora, and the cycle keeps continuing, then there must be intervention. Skinny Up!® Yeast Redux is specifically designed to do just that. The entire Skinny Up!® protocol will help to rediscover quality eating patterns (affecting the gut microflora) and also is a helpful tool in empowering individuals to be in control of their diets, schedules, and reminding them that they can do anything.

Article Citation:

Limbana T., Khan F., Eskander N. Gut microbiome and depression: How microbes affect the way we think. Cureus. 2020;12:e9966. doi: 10.7759/cureus.9966.