“If you’re suffering from gut-induced depression, how do you reset your gut microbiome to steer you back to a healthy mental state? The key is to increase probiotics and prebiotics in your diet.” — Uma Naidoo
Last week, we discussed what prebiotics are. These include substances called oligosaccharides — complex sugars that our body can’t digest, but our microbes can. This microbial manna also goes by the name “fiber”. Because prebiotics feed your good microbes, they contribute to the gut-brain axis and can improve mental issues like depression and anxiety.
Taking Advantage of This Research
Prebiotics in general are derived from plants, so increasing your consumption of veggies and fruit may improve your gut and your mood. The top veggies for fiber include onions, garlic, lentils, artichokes, and asparagus. The top fruits include raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries. The reason berries rate so highly is that these are the only fruits where you eat the seeds, which are high in fiber.
Another source of fiber comes courtesy of fermented foods, which have the extra punch of probiotics. A good fermented food, like sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, and yogurt, has both psychobiotic fiber and the beneficial microbes that live on it. Many healthy cultures around the world eat ferments every day.
Variety is also important. A balanced gut ecosystem is highly diverse, with no overly dominating species. Some dietitians recommend 30 different veggies per week, which may be difficult for some people to even comprehend, let alone accomplish. That may be a dietetic ideal, but adding even five veggies a week into a Western diet can work wonders. If you just can’t get that many veggies into your diet, try a prebiotic supplement. In line with the diversity argument, get a blended prebiotic to support a variety of beneficial microbes. Two popular prebiotic blends include Clarity Prebiotic Blend (which I helped to formulate) from Scanderson Labs, and PRE Biotic Powder from Hyperbiotics.
There is something else we need to talk about. Fiber may be healthy, but those energized microbes can generate gas. This is a real effect, but it can be minimized by starting with small additions of fibrous food and slowly ramping up. Over time, as your gut balances out and becomes comfortable with your new fiber regime, the gas will subside. Mostly. But it’s worth it: Farts are funny; depression is not.
If you have IBS or IBD, talk to your doctor before you start increasing fibrous food or taking prebiotic supplements. During a flare-up of these diseases, it may be better to lower your fiber to minimize gas. These low-fiber diets aren’t intended to last forever, but they are helpful during a flare-up.
In Sum
These studies demonstrate once again that the gut–brain axis is real and significant. Depression may be caused by grief, and it often softens with time. But some cases of depression don’t seem to have obvious foundations. Amazingly, these may be rooted in the Standard American Diet (SAD), which is absurdly low in prebiotic fiber. This mix of depression and poor diet describes a sizeable segment of the population, and not just in America.
If this sounds like you, give veggies, berries, ferments, and prebiotics a try. If this story reminds you of a friend or loved one, be sure to share this mind-boggling research!
References
Yang, Yongde, Bi Zhou, Sheng Zhang, Liang Si, Xiaobo Liu, and Fu Li. “Prebiotics for Depression: How Does the Gut Microbiota Play a Role?” Frontiers in Nutrition 10 (July 6, 2023): 1206468.
Corrêa, Renan Oliveira, Pollyana Ribeiro Castro, José Luís Fachi, Vinícius Dias Nirello, Salma El-Sahhar, Shinya Imada, Gabriel Vasconcelos Pereira, et al. “Inulin Diet Uncovers Complex Diet-Microbiota-Immune Cell Interactions Remodeling the Gut Epithelium.” Microbiome 11, no. 1 (April 26, 2023): 90.
Dinan TG, Stanton C, Cryan JF. Psychobiotics: a novel class of psychotropic. Biol Psychiatry. 2013 Nov 15;74(10):720-6. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.05.001. Epub 2013 Jun 10. PMID: 23759244.