Latest news with #Faecalibacteriumprausnitzii
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Scientists Say Eating This Fruit Every Day Can Reduce Depression Risk
There's the old saying that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but new findings show that a different fruit a day can keep the blues away. A recent study led by Raaj Mehta, MD, MPH, an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School and a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, and co-authored by Andrew Chan, MD, MPH, Distinguished Physician of Gastroenterology at Massachusetts General Hospital, is further proving the strong connection between our guts and brains with new findings on how citrus helps to prevent depression. Although depression affects about 280 million people worldwide, the cause of it is still unclear. And while there are a number of antidepressant medications that can help treat it, up to 30% of patients fail to respond to the initial treatment or develop intolerable side effects. Luckily, there is an increasing amount of promising data that suggests the gut microbiome plays a crucial role in how mental health issues develop. The goal of the Harvard study, and what needed further examination, was how exactly the gut and brain interact to reduce these risks. Inspired by a 2016 study involving over 100,000 women, Dr. Mehta and Dr. Chan set out to look more deeply at what exactly was causing the reduction of depression through the 'gut-brain axis.' Over the last few years, studies have highlighted the important link between gut health and mental health. Back in 2022, a study out of Australia showed that reducing your intake of ultra-processed food could improve your mental health. The idea of cutting back on unhealthy foods is important, but this new Harvard study goes a step further in identifying which foods we should increase in our diet. While the data doesn't show citrus as an effective cure for already existing depression, it offers some promise that, with more research, citrus could be found to help manage depression. The study also encourages additional research on the interaction between diet and mental health — beyond which foods we should exile from our plates. Of course, increasing your intake of all fruits and vegetables is helpful, but citrus fruit stands apart from the produce crowd with its prevention of depression. Citrus fruit in particular stimulates growth of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii (F. prausnitzii), a type of bacteria found in the human gut. This kind of bacteria is important for mental health because when we eat citrus fruit, our guts increase the presence of F. prausnitzii, which in turn produces the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine — our two favorite biological molecules to elevate mood. The Harvard study found that eating one medium orange per day can lower your risk of developing depression by about 20%. Dr. Chan clarifies that 'the benefit appeared to be with eating over five servings of citrus per week for at least a four-year period.' While the study used primarily oranges and grapefruit, Dr. Chan notes that although they weren't able to look specifically at other types of citrus fruit, 'we don't have any reason to believe that they would not also be associated with some benefit.' Any citrus fruit — whether it's lemon, lime, grapefruit or orange — is expected to flood your gut with F. prausnitzii and work its happy magic. Studies have shown that eating a — one that emphasizes vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, whole grains and olive oil and limits red met, processed foods, refined grains, butter, sugary beverages and candy — has positive impacts on mental health, including anxiety and depression. This style of eating also highlights fish like salmon that is high in omega 3 fatty acids, which are known to improve mental health and brain function. Although fatty fish is known as the original brain food, thanks to this new study, citrus is now making its debut in the gut-brain conversation. Dr. Chan says there's more exciting research at work now, with a heavy interest in 'the role of fermented foods in improving our gut health.' which he adds 'may have implications for overall physical and mental health.' It's no surprise that the food we eat influences how our body functions, but this study is another important step in understanding the brain-gut connection. For a brighter mood and happier days ahead, make sure to add your favorite citrus fruit to your diet. Your gut and your brain will be happy you did. You Might Also Like 67 Best Gifts for Women That'll Make Her Smile The Best Pillows for Every Type of Sleeper
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Forget apples — doctors find eating this fruit daily can lower depression risk by 20%
A healthy gut helps you digest your food and absorb its nutrients, strengthens your immune system and reduces your risk of certain chronic diseases. But not everyone realizes that having a happy belly also has a major impact on your mood since about 90% of your body's serotonin and over 50% of your dopamine — two crucial neurotransmitters responsible for making you feel good — are produced in your gut. For this reason, scientists often call the gut 'the second brain.' And while an apple a day may keep the doctor away, research shows an orange a day might keep the blues at bay. Dr. Raaj Mehta, a physician and instructor at Harvard Medical School, and his colleagues analyzed the data of over 30,000 women and found that those who consumed a lot of citrus were much less likely to develop depression than those who didn't. Their findings were published late last year in the journal Microbiome. 'We found that eating one medium orange a day may lower the risk of developing depression by about 20%,' Mehta told the Harvard Gazette last month. 'And the effect seems to be specific to citrus. When we look at people's total fruit or vegetable consumption, or at other individual fruits such as apples or bananas, we don't see any relationship between intake and risk of depression.' Using stool samples, researchers discovered eating more citrus was associated with increased levels of a beneficial gut bacterium called Faecalibacterium prausnitzii (F. prausnitzii), which is known for its anti-inflammatory properties but might also help serotonin and dopamine make their way to the brain. A study published in 2022 found that eating fewer citrus fruits was clearly associated with a heightened risk of depression in patients with chronic health failure. However, Mehta noted that it's 'hard to compare the effectiveness of citrus to traditional antidepressants…because we're talking about preventingdepression, and those drugs are usually used to treatdepression once a person is already experiencing it.' The researchers also acknowledged that their study had certain limitations, as most of the participants were white, middle-aged women; additionally, while they controlled for several factors, there's still the possibility that their findings were correlational rather than causal. Still, eating an orange — or lemon or grapefruit, if that's what you prefer — a day certainly can't hurt, and the study sheds light on the relationship between the gut and the brain, as well as the role these fruits play on it. 'I hope our results inspire other researchers to look into the link between diet and mental health,' Mehta said. 'I think people know intuitively that the foods we eat impact our mood. We even have a term for this: comfort foods, which make ourselves feel better in the short term.' 'There's such a huge unmet need for depression treatments, and eating citrus doesn't really have any major side effects,' he added, 'so it would be great to see how much this simple treatment can help.'
