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Bacteria feed on nutrients we ingest with our food, and like people, bacteria don't use everything they eat. Whatever doesn't fuel their growth and reproduction

Bacteria feed on nutrients we ingest with our food, and like people, bacteria don't use everything they eat. Whatever doesn't fuel their growth and reproduction, the bacteria expel as waste. That waste gets into the blood and probably into the brain, changing its chemistry. If this theory is correct, does it mean that a drastic change in diet might change a person's behavior? I'm imagining a future where people match their diet to their intestinal bacteria to increase or reduce the "waste" that gets produced to achieve a desired mood or behavior.

VLM 12y ago
This goes beyond just bacterial waste into macronutrients like sugars messing with your blood sugar level and thus mood. And who knows what a lifetime of pesticide or herbicide consumption will do to you... I guess we'll find out, some of us anyway. Or the short answer is yeah your diet strongly affects your behavior. If you don't believe me do drink a couple Mt Dew and see what happens, or a couple beers.
bollockitis 12y ago
> If this theory is correct, does it mean that a drastic change in diet might change a person's behavior? I'm imagining a future where people match their diet to their intestinal bacteria to increase or reduce the "waste" that gets produced to achieve a desired mood or behavior. The concept is really not new. Diet has long been linked to mood and behavior in traditional medicine. It wouldn't be a shocker to learn that some traditional approaches to dietary therapy are actually effective, though probably not for the reasons they proclaimed.
- cracell 12y ago
  In fact the concept is very old (not to say anything about whether it's correct or not). "All Disease Begins in the Gut" ~ Hippocrates
zxcdw 12y ago
According to Wikipedia, Carl Pfeiffer[1] researched mental illnesses, mainly schizophrenia, from the point of brain chemistry imbalances and dietary changes to alter it. The theory is, that there are chemical imbalances with patient's brain chemistry which can be influenced by dietary means. There's a book called Nutrient Power[2] which goes on about this theory and Pfeiffer. I haven't read it, but admittedly it sounds interesting. But then again, maybe it's all woowoo (It's rated as #1 bestseller in homeopathy medicine by Amazon, go figure). Then again, for example many vitamin deficiencies alter mood and general "energy levels", and for example fish oil (or omega-3 fatty acids), according to Examine.com's[3] user-collaborated round-up, shows some effects on mental well-being, more on the physical functioning of the body though. Be skeptical. 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Pfeiffer_%28pharmacologist%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Pfeiffer_%28pharmacologis... 2: http://www.amazon.com/Nutrient-Power-Heal-Biochemistry-Brain/dp/1626361282/ http://www.amazon.com/Nutrient-Power-Heal-Biochemistry-Brain... 3: http://examine.com/supplements/Fish+Oil/ http://examine.com/supplements/Fish+Oil/

VLM 12y ago

This goes beyond just bacterial waste into macronutrients like sugars messing with your blood sugar level and thus mood. And who knows what a lifetime of pesticide or herbicide consumption will do to you... I guess we'll find out, some of us anyway. Or the short answer is yeah your diet strongly affects your behavior. If you don't believe me do drink a couple Mt Dew and see what happens, or a couple beers.

bollockitis 12y ago

> If this theory is correct, does it mean that a drastic change in diet might change a person's behavior? I'm imagining a future where people match their diet to their intestinal bacteria to increase or reduce the "waste" that gets produced to achieve a desired mood or behavior. The concept is really not new. Diet has long been linked to mood and behavior in traditional medicine. It wouldn't be a shocker to learn that some traditional approaches to dietary therapy are actually effective, though probably not for the reasons they proclaimed.

cracell 12y ago
In fact the concept is very old (not to say anything about whether it's correct or not). "All Disease Begins in the Gut" ~ Hippocrates

zxcdw 12y ago

According to Wikipedia, Carl Pfeiffer[1] researched mental illnesses, mainly schizophrenia, from the point of brain chemistry imbalances and dietary changes to alter it. The theory is, that there are chemical imbalances with patient's brain chemistry which can be influenced by dietary means. There's a book called Nutrient Power[2] which goes on about this theory and Pfeiffer. I haven't read it, but admittedly it sounds interesting. But then again, maybe it's all woowoo (It's rated as #1 bestseller in homeopathy medicine by Amazon, go figure). Then again, for example many vitamin deficiencies alter mood and general "energy levels", and for example fish oil (or omega-3 fatty acids), according to Examine.com's[3] user-collaborated round-up, shows some effects on mental well-being, more on the physical functioning of the body though. Be skeptical. 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Pfeiffer_%28pharmacologist%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Pfeiffer_%28pharmacologis... 2: http://www.amazon.com/Nutrient-Power-Heal-Biochemistry-Brain/dp/1626361282/ http://www.amazon.com/Nutrient-Power-Heal-Biochemistry-Brain... 3: http://examine.com/supplements/Fish+Oil/ http://examine.com/supplements/Fish+Oil/