Past-Present-Future

WE SHOULD CONSIDER THAT NOT ONLY WHAT WE DREAM BUT ALSO WHAT WE THINK IS NOT TOTALLY UNDER CONTROLL

Guy Van Elsacker
6 hrs ·
The Probiotics Discovery That Even Surprised Researchers
Brain scans reveal link between beneficial bacteria and higher thinking Not so long ago, scientists at UCLA made a surprising discovery. They wanted to understand how probiotics affect the brain and mood. So, they decided to run a test using brain scans. What they discovered shook the foundations of probiotic science. It has even led some scientists to suggest that probiotics should be called "psycho-biotics." While the term might sound odd, I promise it has nothing to do with an old Hitchcock movie. You see, the UCLA researchers discovered probiotics have a much bigger effect on how your brain works.
Brain Imaging Reveals Probiotics Support Clearer Thinking
The UCLA study began with a simple goal. The researchers set out to see how the brains of people who consumed probiotics worked differently from those who didn't. To do this, they used a technology called functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). It's an MRI for the brain. The test worked this way…
Participants were hooked up and prepped for the fMRI. Then, they looked at pictures designed to stimulate emotional responses. As they did, brain scans were done. The group that got a placebo without probiotics performed as expected. They showed activity in the sensory and emotion areas of the brain. But the test group who were given probiotics produced brain scans that were completely unexpected…
The Probiotics Group Showed Higher “Executive Function”
Scientists use the term “Executive function” to describe thinking, reasoning, judgment and self-control. Thinking like this takes place in an area of the brain called the pre-frontal cortex. This was exactly the area of the brain that showed activity in the probiotics group. Thinking like this helps you stay calm. You feel less anxious. It’s also the area active when you think most clearly.
The UCLA researchers had discovered a link between probiotics and higher thinking. It wasn’t that probiotics altered the participants’ emotions. The probiotics enhanced their ability to think and respond. This study led researchers everywhere to realize probiotics do a lot more than aid digestion and ease gas and bloating. Probiotics affect how well - and clearly - we think.
Did Scientists Discover the Real Power of Probiotics?
For years, scientists have suspected a link between digestive and mental health. Studies have shown people with low levels of certain probiotic bacteria experience forgetfulness, confusion and memory loss.
After the UCLA study, researchers around the world began to dig deeper into the relationship between probiotics and the brain. Another research team recently put probiotics to the test. The researchers took 60 elderly men suffering from advanced stages of memory loss. Some received a probiotic that included L. acidophilus and B. Bifidum while others took a placebo. The men who got the probiotics showed “significant” improvement on memory tests.
And now, new research seeks to isolate which probiotic bacteria deliver the greatest benefit. One such study identified Bifidobacterium longum as one that improves memory and recall in animals. But that wasn’t all it did… B. longum also improved their ability to learn. Experiments like these often look at what happens when probiotics are added. One group of researchers however decided to look at it the other way. They removed the probiotic bacteria…
When Probiotic Levels Fell, Memory Loss Followed
In the first stage of this study, researchers used antibiotics to remove “good” gut bacteria from the digestive tracts of mice.
You see, even though we use antibiotics to fight illness, they kill both the “bad” bacteria and the “good” probiotic type. Antibiotics don’t distinguish between the two. So the antibiotics wiped out the probiotic levels. Almost immediately the mice showed signs of memory loss. But researchers made another big discovery……brain cell growth also stopped! The lack of probiotic bacteria did more than affect how the brain works. It even affected the brain’s physical well-being!
For the second stage of the study, researchers gave the mice probiotics. Their memory and recall improved. And their brain cell growth restarted! Studies like these continue to show a strong connection between the presence of probiotic bacteria and clear thinking, memory and brain health.
Today it’s obvious that relief for gas, bloating and diarrhea only represent a small part of what “good” probiotic bacteria do. It’s also clear there’s a need to maintain consistently high levels of probiotics in the gut. But, just as some researchers discovered B. longum promotes memory and learning, others have discovered some strains offer more benefits than others…
Some Probiotic Bacteria Give Extra Special Protection
Researchers have identified more than 1,000 species of "good" bacteria in the human gut. They all contribute to digestion, nutrient absorption and immune function to varying degrees. Of the thousands of probiotic strains, scientists report a few are more special than others. They refer to these strains as "keystone species," a term borrowed from environmental scientists.

“The Important thing is to not stop questioning.”
— Albert Einstein

GUY VAN ELSACKER



I know that in my new smart phone there are a lot things I don't need but. ….I'm too scared to delete them

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