Taking care of the bacteria that live in our gut should be one of our health priorities. At least that is what researchers from the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM) and the Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red (CIBER) support after performing a study in mice for understanding how gut microbiota can reduce the adverse effects of alcohol intake.
The results from this research suggest that having a healthy diet could prevent alcohol addiction and alcohol use disorders, such as depression or anxiety. The secret is to include prebiotics and probiotics in our meals; those are the ones that contribute to the growth and maintenance of a healthy gut flora.
This study about the microbiota has provided new details about the functioning of the axis formed by our gut’s bacteria and our brain. However, there is still a lot to uncover about this relation and about how it can be beneficial against alcohol use disorders
Nieves Pizarro, Elk Kossatz, Pedro González, Alba Gamero, Emma Veza, Cristina Fernández, Toni Gabaldón, Rafael de la Torre and Patricia Robledo. Sex-specific effects of synbiotic exposure in mice on addictive-like behavioural alterations induced by chronic alcohol intake are associated with changes in specific gut bacterial taxa and brain tryptophan metabolism. Front. Nutr. 2021
