Feeling down? Among the many benefits that apple cider vinegar offers to our health, you may have heard about its impact on morale and its anti-depression action.
Among the many benefits that cider vinegar offers to our health, you may have heard about its impact on morale and its anti-depression action. Strange link you might think! Not so much when we know that raw cider vinegar has a direct effect on the microbiota and how much the microbiota impacts mental health.
Before being able to explain any biological link, a study carried out by the College of Health Solutions Arizona in 2021 also made it possible to observe a reduction in depression of 20 to 34% in a group of young adults who drank vinegar daily for 4 weeks compared to a group who did not ingest it.
Archie and the microbiota
The microbiota, if this term evokes scientific gibberish or a trendy topic not really understood, it is the other word for the intestinal flora. The name flora remains prettier , there is no doubt.
So what does this intestinal flora correspond to, which we want so much to have in good health?
It is simply a colony of bacteria (100,000 billion microorganisms to be precise) present in our intestines, in the same way that there is one in our mouth, in our lungs, on our skin or even in our genitals. In this colony, there are good bacteria but also some bad ones. What induces a healthy colony is a good ratio between friendly bacteria and pathogenic bacteria.
When the good bacteria are in greater numbers, everything is fine. They then have the ability to eliminate intruders who might want to develop. On the other hand, when the good bacteria start to be overwhelmed, chaos sets in. This bacterial chaos is called dysbiosis.
To avoid this, it is therefore nice to give our friendly colony a little boost from time to time. This is where cider vinegar comes in! Due to its bacterial richness and good acids, cider vinegar has the power to strengthen the troops of good bacteria and kill pathogens.
This power of vinegar, which has been known empirically for centuries (Hippocrates already placed it as a product that works miracles against infections ) , is today studied by science.
Laboratory tests have demonstrated the antibacterial action of cider vinegar against Escherichia coli , Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans , bacteria whose pathogenic forms are most often responsible for intestinal dysbiosis. A study conducted in 2018 tells us that raw cider vinegar alters the cellular integrity, organelles and protein expression of these harmful bacteria.
Like other natural antibiotics, vinegar only destroys pathogenic bacteria without altering the good ones. Smart!
A healthy microbiota for top morale
So you have understood, raw cider vinegar is a valuable ally for the microbiota. And who says microbiota in shape says morale in good shape. Here too, research is progressing and is already unanimous. The microbiota has a direct link to the brain. Moreover, it is enough to transplant the microbiota of one living being onto another to observe a change in its moods.
Why? Several actions are called into question.
First, the intestines contain many neurons, so they communicate directly with the brain. Serotonin, the neurotransmitter of serenity, is largely produced in our intestines - provided that they are healthy. Another explanation, published in Nature Communications in December 2020, suggests that in the event of an imbalance in our bacterial colony, lipids normally present in the blood and brain and necessary for the latter to function disappear from the radar. When these lipid metabolites, called endogenous cannabinoids , are no longer present in the area of the brain responsible for emotions, a depressive state appears. When good bacteria are reintroduced, these lipid metabolites reappear and the mood returns to good.
So there are indeed anti- depressant bacteria, which we call " psychobiotics ". To keep a naturally top bacterial balance and therefore good morale, the best thing to do is to regularly integrate natural ingredients into your diet that will feed our colony of friendly bacteria! Archie is one of them!
