Your gut bacteria are essential for your GI health and can influence your feelings. People with gastrointestinal disorders have a higher risk of depression and anxiety.
Studies show that specific bacteria and metabolomic pathways correlate with personality traits like sociability and neuroticism. In addition, fecal microbiome transplantation has been shown to impact behavioral characteristics.
Anger
Anger is an emotion that various life events can trigger. It can result from feeling like your needs and preferences are being ignored or from feelings of indignity that lead to the belief that someone should not have to put up with something that makes you mad.
Often, unmanaged anger can result in physical problems such as high blood pressure or heart disease. It may also cause damage to relationships and work performance. Anger is an important emotion, but you should seek help if it becomes destructive or interferes with your life in other ways.
If your anger is out of control, you may want to talk with a family doctor, like Dr. Jason Campbell, or a mental health professional. They can recommend relaxation techniques and strategies for changing negative thoughts.
Depression
The bacterium Bacteroides produces g-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a neurotransmitter affecting how your brain reacts to certain stimuli. GABA is known to calm the brain, and a recent study found that people with more Bacteroides in their gut microbiome also had lower levels of depression-related genes in their brains.
Anxiety
Scientists have discovered that the gut microbiota can influence anxiety. For example, scientists found that a strain of bacteria in the intestines, Bifidobacterium longum, can increase levels of the neurotransmitter GABA and reduce symptoms associated with anxiety. GABA is a natural inhibitor of pain, so boosting it could be one way to alleviate anxiety.
The study also found that distinct bacterial communities and metabolomic pathways correlated with the four personality traits: mental, mental, and physical energy/fatigue. Although diet influences the gut microbiome, only one food group (processed meat) was correlated with the moods studied.
This finding supports previous research demonstrating that gut bacteria can influence mood through the gut-brain axis. For example, fecal transplants of healthy bacteria can change the temperament of germ-free mice. Similarly, social behavior improves in adolescent mice colonized with the microbiota of friendly mice.
Stress
Gut bacteria send signals to the brain that influence how the body reacts to stress. This may be through modulating neurotransmitter production or inflammation or altering the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis that regulates stress hormones.
Aggression
Aggression is a complex and dangerous phenomenon. Various factors, including medical and psychiatric diseases, neurotransmitters, hormones, medications, and genetics, can cause it. Specific events or situations can also trigger it. Aggression is also commonly associated with a variety of mental health disorders, such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and major depression.
Animal studies have bolstered the idea that gut microbes can influence behavioral traits. For example, mice colonized with the gut microbiota from other mice show anxiety and depressive-like behaviors. In addition, giving animals fecal microbiota transplants from healthy people can reduce their symptoms.
Researchers are investigating whether a combination of bacteria and metabolomic pathways in the gut can influence personality traits like openness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and extraversion. Their results will challenge previous findings that found no link between the gut microbiome and psychiatric symptoms in humans.
Arman Ali, respects both business and technology. He enjoys writing about new business and technical developments. He has previously written content for numerous SaaS and IT organizations. He also enjoys reading about emerging technical trends and advances.
