Be it financial worries, work pressures, or relationship problems, we all get stressed from time to time. According to a new study, stress may be just as detrimental to our health as junk food — for women, at least.
Researchers found that stressed female mice experienced changes to their gut microbiota — that is, the community of microorganisms that reside in the intestine — comparable with what is seen in response to a high-fat diet.
The researchers recently reported the results of their study in the journal Scientific Reports.
Half of the female mice and half of the male mice were fed a high-fat diet for 16 weeks, while the remaining mice were fed a standard chow diet.
Compared with female mice fed a high-fat diet, the team found that male mice fed a high-fat diet showed greater anxiety.
However, among mice fed the standard chow diet, the researchers found that female mice displayed gut microbiota changes in response to stress that were similar to those seen in response to the high-fat diet. “Stress can be harmful in a lot of ways,” says Bridgewater, “but this research is novel in that it ties stress to female-specific changes in the gut microbiota.
There was no statistical difference between the HF + TS group and the control group in Lactobacillus spp. There was no statistical difference between the HF + TS group and the control group in Lactobacillus spp.
(A) Bacteroides-Prevotella, Desulfovibrios, Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus DNA expressions in gut microbiota of the control group (Con), high-fat diet group (HF), and HF with teasaponin treatment group (HF + TS) (n = 12 per group). (A) Bacteroides-Prevotella, Desulfovibrios, Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus DNA expressions in gut microbiota of the control group (Con), high-fat diet group (HF), and HF with teasaponin treatment group (HF + TS) (n = 12 per group).
Teasaponin prevented an increase of plasma LPS induced by the HF diet after the 6-week treatment (Control: 0.66 ± 0.03 EU/ml, HF: 1.05 ± 0.08 EU/ml, HF + TS: 0.67 ± 0.04 EU/ml, p = 0.001). Teasaponin prevented an increase of plasma LPS induced by the HF diet after the 6-week treatment (Control: 0.66 ± 0.03 EU/ml, HF: 1.05 ± 0.08 EU/ml, HF + TS: 0.67 ± 0.04 EU/ml, p = 0.001).
In the present study, treatment with teasaponin, an important active ingredient of tea, improved microbiota and enhanced memory for object recognition in HF diet fed mice. In the present study, treatment with teasaponin, an important active ingredient of tea, improved microbiota and enhanced memory for object recognition in HF diet fed mice.
In our study, we found that teasaponin prevented a HF diet induced alteration of microbiota at the species level, especially increasing Bacteroides-Prevotella spp. In our study, we found that teasaponin prevented a HF diet induced alteration of microbiota at the species level, especially increasing Bacteroides-Prevotella spp.
Given the infectious nature of periodontal disease, patients with the disease show elevated IgG antibody titers against periodontopathic bacteria.
In addition, gut microbiota appear to mediate development and progression of NAFLD14,15,16.
In the present study, we first examined the relationship between periodontal disease and NAFLD by measuring IgG antibody titers to periodontopathic bacteria in NAFLD patients.
Full size image Comparison of body weight, body fat, glucose tolerance and insulin resistance among NCco, NCAa, HFco and HFAa mice.
*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 NCco vs NCAa, †P < 0.05, ††P < 0.01 HFco vs HFAa.
Full size image Analysis of glucose metabolism and insulin resistance among NCco, NCAa, HFco and HFAa mice (n = 6–8).
Full size image Evaluation of gut microbiome compositions based on 16S rRNA sequences between NCco and NCAa mice (n = 4).
*P < 0.05 between NCco and NCAa mice.
Full size image Metagenome prediction between NCco and NCAa mice.
*P < 0.05 between NCco and NCAa mice.
(f) HOMA-IR, both mulberry leaf and glibenclamide decreased insulin resistance, *P < 0.05 compared with NCG. (f) HOMA-IR, both mulberry leaf and glibenclamide decreased insulin resistance, *P < 0.05 compared with NCG.
Diabetic rats of NCG had a significantly elevated level of PKC, as indicated by the results of RT-PCR (Fig. Diabetic rats of NCG had a significantly elevated level of PKC, as indicated by the results of RT-PCR (Fig.
Diabetic rats showed a significantly reduced level of insulin receptors, as indicated by the results of western blot (Fig. Diabetic rats showed a significantly reduced level of insulin receptors, as indicated by the results of western blot (Fig.
Decreased adiponectin at transcription and post-translation levels was observed in diabetic rats, which was restored under mulberry leaf treatment (Fig.
These results indicate that the mulberry leaf diet could improve the community structure of the intestinal microbiota of diabetes mellitus SD rats. These results indicate that the mulberry leaf diet could improve the community structure of the intestinal microbiota of diabetes mellitus SD rats.
Six samples from each group were used for the intestinal microbiota analysis.
Black tea is one of America’s best-loved beverages, accounting for around 80 percent of all tea consumed in the country.
These are antioxidants that protect cellular structures – such as DNA and cell membranes – against damage from free radicals.
Polyphenols from green tea are small enough to be absorbed into the bloodstream and body tissues, and studies have shown that they can alter the liver’s energy metabolism in a way that promotes weight loss.
As Henning explains, “Our new findings suggest that black tea, through a specific mechanism through the gut microbiome, may also contribute to good health and weight loss in humans.”
At the end of the 4-week dietary intervention, the researchers found that both the green tea and black tea groups lost weight, and their weights became comparable with the low-fat, high-sugar diet group.
Henning explains that the smaller green tea molecules are absorbed more easily, meaning they can reach the liver directly to affect energy metabolism.
It was also found that the black tea group had higher levels of a bacteria called Pseudobutyrivibrio, which they suggest could play a role in the differing effects of green and black tea on energy metabolism.
Overall, they believe that their findings indicate that black tea may be just as beneficial for health as the widely acclaimed green tea.
