Tests in mice show that microbes in the gut may tamper with the production of tiny molecules in brain regions known to help control anxiety, Maria Temming reported in “How gut bacteria may affect anxiety” (SN: 9/30/17, p. 12).
Online reader Amanda wondered what has more influence: gut bacteria on anxiety, or anxiety on the bacterial makeup of the gut.
If bacteria have more of an effect on anxiety, she asked whether it could be treated with diet rather than drugs.Researchers are still working out the details of the gut-brain connection, says Gerard Clarke, a psychiatrist at University College Cork in Ireland. Tweaking the gut’s microbial population can affect anxious behaviors, animal studies have shown, which suggests that gut bacteria could play a causal role in anxiety. But other research has indicated that various stressors can alter the composition of the gut microbiota. It’s “difficult to tease apart which has the most influence,” Clarke says.
If bacteria do influence anxiety, the right diet may be able to help. “Diet is considered one of the main factors that shape the gut microbiota,” Clarke says. Studies hint that proper diet could help treat depression, “but there is less data specifically related to anxiety at the minute,” he…
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