Feeling sad because you’re eating unhealthy. Recent research shows that there is a connection between the bacteria in your gut and feelings of depression. Follow-up research should show whether these bacteria make you depressed or vice versa. “We will also work with DNA profiles of people,” says molecular biologist Robert Craig.
A lead article appeared in December last year Nature Communications JournalThat provided a large-scale study of the relationship between gut bacteria and depressive feelings. A group of scientists at Erasmus University has been working on this since 2012.
Stool examination
To find out which bacteria are occurring in the intestines, the stools of thousands of residents of Rotterdam and Amsterdam were examined. Feelings of depression were also measured through questionnaires. This showed that a link was found between fourteen groups of gut bacteria and feelings of depression, in both the Rotterdam and Amsterdam groups.
“The collaboration between two research groups in Rotterdam and Amsterdam makes the research special,” says Robert Craig, a molecular biologist and assistant professor at Erasmus MC. This allowed for greater replication, which meant running a study again using the same method and getting the same results. “These groups check each other’s data.”
stool collection
The researchers began collecting stool from 2012. Then the analysis between stool microbiome and depression began in 2018. “What we’d have preferred is that we went into the gut of all these people, but that’s very expensive and very radical for the participants.”
“Collecting stool is also not very fun, but it is easier. We think that the stool microbiome is a fair reflection of the gut microbiome.”
What I’ve seen so far is that the link between the gut microbiome and depression is a strong one
The field of research in which microbes are linked to all kinds of diseases has been around for several years now. The relationship between gut bacteria and depression has also been shown before, for example in animals. In particular, the December study showed that the link between gut bacteria and depression is getting stronger. “We found bacteria that had already been found in previous research,” says Craig.
“I’m not a psychologist, but I’m someone who can create and analyze a dataset. What I’ve seen so far is that the link between the gut microbiome and depression is one of the strongest.”
Healthy eating and living
Perhaps not one, but a group of bacteria causes feelings of depression. If you want to get rid of these bacteria, changing your diet may help. Karaij:,,,,,,,,,,,,, We do not say: you should eat this or that. You have to eat healthily and live healthy.” Antibiotics, prebiotics, and probiotics may also be a solution.
In addition, the researcher stresses that this study is not the answer to depression. “The whole picture plays a role. How are you doing, what do you think, what setbacks have you had in life? But also things like: How healthy are you living and how is your microbiome regulated?”
Continue searching larger
Scientists want to make follow-up research even bigger. This means that they will integrate more research groups (clusters) and possibly cooperate with the United States. “We want to better study the causal relationship between gut bacteria and depression.
For this, we use DNA profiles, for example, and look at which ones are involved in depression and the composition of the gut microbiome. This way you can determine if one is causing the other.”
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