The Psychobiotic Revolution Quotes

“Benjamin Franklin said, “Wine is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”
― Scott C. Anderson, The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection

“There is evidence that you can improve your microbiota even in old age by adopting a Mediterranean-type diet and eating more fiber.”
― Scott C. Anderson, The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection

“You can probably make no single change to your diet that will be as good for your health and well-being as cutting down on sugar.”
― Scott C. Anderson, The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection

“The research indicates that for many, depression and anxiety may simply come down to a lousy diet.”
― Scott C. Anderson, The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection

“High-fat and high-sugar diets increase inflammation, the source of much disease and discomfort, and can actually degrade your blood-brain barrier (BBB), allowing dangerous toxins to access your brain.”
― Scott C. Anderson, The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection

“a healthy diet consists of vegetables, fruit, fish, high-fiber grains, nuts, eggs, and quality vegetable oil. These are elements of both the Nordic and Mediterranean diets, known to add healthy years to your life.”
― Scott C. Anderson, The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection

“Stop Eating Junk Food”
― Scott C. Anderson, The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection

“ARE BACTERIA CONTROLLING YOUR BRAIN? IT SEEMS ABSURD! Bacteria are so ridiculously tiny that you could fit a thousand of them into a single human cell. And yet, microbes seem to have superpowers.”
― Scott C. Anderson, The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection

“Only one percent of your genes are human, and those genes are fairly stable, but your microbial genes—the other 99 percent—are in constant flux. Measured by your genes, you’re a different creature each and every morning.”
― Scott C. Anderson, The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection

“It may be a shock to the ego, but you are not alone in your body, and your microbiota is right now making plans for your future. By manipulating your cravings and mood, it gains control over your behavior.”
― Scott C. Anderson, The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection

“The community of microbes living in your gut—your so-called microbiota—is like another organ of your body. It’s a seething alien living inside of you, fermenting your food and jealously protecting you against interlopers. It’s a pretty unusual organ by any measure, but even more so in that its composition changes with every meal.”
― Scott C. Anderson, The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection

“When everything is running smoothly, you pay no attention to your gut. Like your heart or your liver, it’s best if these things are on autopilot. Your conscious mind is too busy looking for your keys to be trusted with running these critical organs.”
― Scott C. Anderson, The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection

“Microbes can mutate every 20 minutes, while humans try to counterpunch with genetic evolutionary updates every 10,000 years or so. They are genetic dynamos, running circles around us.”
― Scott C. Anderson, The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection

“Microbes surround us and suffuse us. We are seriously outnumbered. A single bacterium, given enough to eat, could multiply until its brethren reached the mass of the Earth in just two days. That’s a big clue to their superpower: They are excellent at reproduction.”
― Scott C. Anderson, The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection

“If microbes are controlling the brain, then microbes are controlling everything.”
― John F. Cryan, The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection

“People under chronic stress often change their eating habits, and many of them overeat. Psychological stress elevates circulating ghrelin, which stimulates a preference for calorie-rich “comfort” foods. These foods activate reward circuits, increasing dopamine and reducing stress-induced anxiety and depression. In our laboratory, we found that a high-fat diet protects against the deleterious effects of chronic stress. This blunting effect of a high-fat diet on stress is likely mediated by the HPA axis. At some point this can move behavior from impulsive to compulsive. Like an addiction, you can become tolerant to comfort food, and no longer get the same dopamine reward. That can increase your anxiety and depression, which can lead to additional overeating. This in turn can lead to obesity, which further contributes to anxiety and depression.110”
― Scott C. Anderson, The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection

“Certain antioxidant foods—such as coffee, cocoa, green tea, turmeric, strawberries, and blueberries—have been shown to lower the risks of depression and cognitive decline.”
― Scott C. Anderson, The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection

“Another good diet that encourages Bifido and Lacto species is the Japanese diet, with fermented foods, veggies, and fish.”
― Scott C. Anderson, The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection

“Studies have shown that foods with added sugar can induce depression, possibly by boosting pathogenic bacteria.74 Prebiotics have been shown to moderate this effect. A large Norwegian study with 23,000 women and their children found that a junk food diet predicted depression and anxiety in the children.”
― Scott C. Anderson, The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection

“Cabbage can be fermented into sauerkraut and kimchi. The bacterial enzymes in kraut release vitamins C, B, and K as well as other nutrients, making it more nutritious than the original cabbage, with a probiotic kick to boot. A single cup of sauerkraut can contain 10 million CFUs of Lacto and another species, Leuconostoc—enough to qualify sauerkraut as a true probiotic.67”
― Scott C. Anderson, The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection

“The short of it is: Eat more fiber. Choose whole grain baked products over refined. Experiment with other whole grain dishes such as quinoa, brown rice, and bulgur. Eat whole fruit rather than drinking fruit juice. Add more vegetables, raw or cooked, to your meals. Every choice you make in favor of increased fiber in your diet will amplify the health of your gut—and improve your mood.”
― Scott C. Anderson, The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection

“Eat More Fiber, Nature’s Original Prebiotic”
― Scott C. Anderson, The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection

“People who are stressed become more susceptible to infection and inflammation. That”
― Scott C. Anderson, The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection

“up to 60 percent of the dry weight of your poop is composed of bacteria. You were an excellent host.”
― Scott C. Anderson, The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection

“A healthy gut includes a good population of the Lactobacillus bacteria that produce B12, contributing to their psychobiotic properties.”
― Scott C. Anderson, The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection

“secrete bile acids to break the fats down. These acids are another bacterial killing ground for many species, but other bacteria, so-called Bilophila (for “bile-loving”), do well in this environment—especially when saturated fats are involved—and that is not necessarily a good thing. These bacteria can trigger an immune reaction, which may help to explain some of the inflammatory diseases (and associated depression and anxiety) that plague many people on a typical Western—hence, high-fat—diet.”
― Scott C. Anderson, The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection

“your oral microbiota is unbalanced it can lead to premature delivery, dysbiosis, and depression later in your baby’s life.”
― Scott C. Anderson, The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection

“simple starches—think white sugar—are broken down by your saliva into component sugars such as maltose and dextrose. One pathogenic member of the Streptococcus genus, S. mutans, lurks in your mouth and turns these sugars into acids that eat away at the enamel on your teeth.”
― Scott C. Anderson, The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection

“modern civilization’s highly processed foods, broad-spectrum antibiotics, and enhanced hygiene, we may be tipping the balance away from this long-term association—and actually placing that relationship in danger. It is possible that this microbial shift underpins the swift and otherwise inexplicable increases in obesity, autoimmune diseases, depression, anxiety, and many other health problems that we see today.”
― Scott C. Anderson, The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection

“Candida is a yeast that loves the intestinal environment. It puts down rootlike tendrils, which, like a weed flourishing in a sidewalk crack, can pry open the spaces between gut cells and cause systemic damage.”
― Scott C. Anderson, The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection