Have you ever been told that probiotics are good for your health? You might be wondering, what exactly are these probiotics and how do they function? Could it be possible that these tiny microorganisms have dramatic implications for your overall health?
Picture your gut an intricate ecosystem requiring a delicate balance of good and bad bacteria. When this equilibrium is disrupted due to factors like diet, stress, or illness, the consequences extend beyond just digestion – they impact your overall health. But what if the secret to enhancing your well-being was as simple as supporting your gut with probiotics?
Commonly used for managing conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and diarrhoea, they also play a role in restoring your gut balance during and after antibiotic use. However, the benefits of probiotics extend beyond rectifying gut issues, contributing to the well-being of your entire body.
The role of probiotics in digestive health is comprehensive and holistic. Beyond aiding digestion, did you know that these beneficial bacteria can also impact various interconnected aspects of health, including your skin, brain, and immune system? In this article, we will delve into how improved gut health can lead to a ripple effect of benefits for your overall well-being.
The gut-skin axis
Over 80 years ago, a pair of dermatologists proposed a connection between gastrointestinal health and skin health. This relationship has been further substantiated over the years in scientific literature, establishing what is now known as the gut-skin axis.
Just beyond the single-cell layer lining our gut lies the immune system, which determines whether our body is in a state of tolerance or inflammation. By influencing the complex mechanics of the immune system, your digestive health doesn’t just influence your gut but extends its impact to distant organs, such as the skin. Some research even suggests that if the intestinal barrier is compromised, intestinal bacteria can enter the bloodstream and accumulate in the skin.
So, how does this all impact our skin? It appears that poor digestive health can disrupt the skin microbiome and contribute to common skin conditions such as psoriasis, acne, rosacea, and eczema (atopic dermatitis). One study found a significant prevalence of H. pylori infection, a bacterium known to cause stomach issues, in patients with rosacea. Interestingly, eradicating this bacterial overgrowth in the gut led to significant improvements in symptoms amongst these patients (Gravina et al., 2015). Other studies have drawn similar connections between the state of the gut microbiome and various skin disorders, as well as general skin health. Ultimately, if poor gut health is left unchecked, it can trigger systemic inflammation, leading to ongoing skin problems.
This is where probiotics can play a critical role. They contribute to a healthier gut by enhancing microbial diversity and help maintain the balance of the gut microbiome. In doing so, they help manage the gut issues that could trigger systematic inflammation and abnormal immune responses, which can subsequently impact skin health. By deepening our understanding of the gut-skin axis and the role of probiotics, we can unlock new strategies for managing not only our digestive health, but various skin conditions.
The gut-brain axis
If you’ve ever felt a sudden pit in your stomach due to nervousness or experienced those jittery butterflies when you’re excited, you’ve experienced the gut-brain connection firsthand. However, this relationship is actually bidirectional, and you may be shocked to find that 90% of messages might be gut-to-brain. As research on this topic expands, it is becoming clearer that the gut microbiome is a key modulator in the gut-brain relationship.
Recent studies suggest that our gut bacteria can significantly impact the gut-brain axis, even influencing psychological facets like our mood, fatigue levels, and anxiety. For example, one study observed high co-morbidity of anxiety and depression disorders in people with gut issues such as irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease (Kurina, 2001). Further studies have correlated this by highlighting that people with anxiety and depression often possess a different faecal microbiota composition compared to their healthier counterparts (Naseribafrouei et al., 2014).
So, if a disrupted gut microbiome can intensify depressive-like symptoms, can rebalancing it bring about a positive health outcome? Emerging evidence suggests so. Several studies have identified certain probiotics that exhibit antidepressant and anti-inflammatory effects (Chang et al., 2022). While the exact mechanics are very complex and still being explored, it is thought that by reducing inflammation, improving gut bacterial diversity, and balancing gut neurometabolites, probiotics may positively affect a host of mental health concerns.
The gut-immune axis
Our gastrointestinal tract is home to microbes that undertake vital roles, such as thwarting pathogen invasions and regulating host metabolism. But these aren’t their only tasks. The gut also shelters our mucosal immune system, a complex network that wards off microbial threats.
Research highlights the symbiotic relationship between our gut and the immune system. In the absence of a robust gut microbiota, the secretion of cytokines crucial for immune response dwindles. These microbes also help maintain the balance between anti-inflammatory regulatory T cells and pro-inflammatory T helper cells in our GI tract, which is instrumental in averting both intestinal and systemic inflammation. Moreover, they also assist in the eventual release of immunoglobins that limit inflammatory responses towards gut microbes themselves (Fung, 2020). Put succinctly, the relationship between the gut and the immune system has a fundamental role in the function of your immune response, which itself influences everything from our skin’s health to our brain’s functionality.
By fostering a rich and varied gut flora, probiotics can indirectly enhance our immune system. Research identifies several beneficial effects of probiotics on our immune response, including blocking the effect of pathogenic bacteria and enhancing intestinal homeostasis. Most importantly, probiotics have been found to enhance innate immunity and modulate pathogen-induced inflammation via toll-like receptor-regulated signalling pathways (Yan & Polk, 2011).
Conclusion
While probiotics are commonly associated with addressinggut issues such as IBS and diarrhoea, we are constantly discovering broader implications of these microorganisms for our overall health. From fighting skin disorders, influencing our mental well-being, to bolstering our immune system, the influence of probiotics extends far beyond the realm of simple digestive health. As we continue to learn more about the complex interplay between our gut and other systemic functions, we unlock a greater potential for more holistic health strategies. By prioritising our gut health, we inadvertently nurture our entire well-being.
References
Chang, L., Wei, Y., & Hashimoto, K. (2022). Brain–gut–microbiota axis in depression: A historical overview and future directions. Brain Research Bulletin, 182, 44–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainresbull.2022.02.004
Fung, T. C. (2020). The microbiota-immune axis as a central mediator of gut-brain communication. Neurobiology of Disease, 136(104714), 104714. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbd.2019.104714
Gravina, A. G., Federico, A., Ruocco, E., Lo Schiavo, A., Masarone, M., Tuccillo, C., Peccerillo, F., Miranda, A., Romano, L., de Sio, C., de Sio, I., Persico, M., Ruocco, V., Riegler, G., Loguercio, C., & Romano, M. (2015). Helicobacter pylori infection but not small intestinal bacterial overgrowth may play a pathogenic role in rosacea. United European Gastroenterology Journal, 3(1), 17–24. https://doi.org/10.1177/2050640614559262
Kurina, L. M. (2001). Depression and anxiety in people with inflammatory bowel disease. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 55(10), 716–720. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech.55.10.716
Naseribafrouei, A., Hestad, K., Avershina, E., Sekelja, M., Linløkken, A., Wilson, R., & Rudi, K. (2014). Correlation between the human fecal microbiota and depression. Neurogastroenterology and Motility: The Official Journal of the European Gastrointestinal Motility Society, 26(8), 1155–1162. https://doi.org/10.1111/nmo.12378
Yan, F., & Polk, D. B. (2011). Probiotics and immune health. Current Opinion in Gastroenterology, 27(6), 496–501. https://doi.org/10.1097/MOG.0b013e32834baa4d