Mental Wellness Mastermind

Looking forward to speaking to a group of Mental Wellness Leaders tomorrow in Salt Lake City – about the “Age of Mental Wellness” and how the science of the Microbiome-Gut-Heart-Brain-Axis is leading to a fundamental reassessment (and revolution) in how we think about mental well-being and literally all of human health.

Our company – Amare Global – is perfectly positioned to take advantage of this shift toward harnessing this new science to help people naturally improve their Mental Wellness (mood, energy, focus, resilience, sleep quality, gut health, etc).

Here are the slides that I’ll be using to describe the new science, the size of the mental wellness market, and the growth trajectory into the future – exciting times!

Fight Cancer – and get free stuff…

Special offer for anyone donating $100 to our Pan-Mass-Challenge (PMC) to fight cancer…

I’ll send you a signed copy of my recent Mental Fitness book (optimizing mood, motivation and mental wellness by harnessing the body-brain-biome) – AND a sample of one of the new dietary supplements that I’ve been working on.

One is a “liquid pouch” (sort of like a smoothie) for immune support and the other is an herbal-infused dark chocolate (sugar-free) to lower stress and improve sleep quality. I think you’ll really like them – and I’d love your feedback about what you think of them?

If you can, please donate at https://profile.pmc.org/ST0185

Probiotics better than antidepressants?

Great to see that “psychobiotics” are rising in awareness. At Amare, we’ve been using a range of different psychobiotic strains since 2017 to help people feel and perform their best. Our products are research-supported and award-winning, including Fundamentals (Best New Product 2018, Winner), Kids Fundamentals (Best New Probiotic 2019, Finalist), and GBX Fit (Best New Probiotic 2020, Finalist). Check them out if you want to see what #MentalFitness feels like.

Psychobiotics: Microbiome to edge out pharma for depression and psychiatric help?

Your Microbiome Says You’re Hungry?

Here is a nice article from Science Focus that explains some of the signals from your gut microbiome thatch determine your level of hunger.

One science-based supplement that takes advantage of these signals to quiet hunger signals and amplify satiety (“fullness”) signals is GBX Fit – the worlds first “QUAD-Biotic” that harnesses the power of the microbiome for weight loss.

GBX Fit is a Finalist for 2022 “Probiotic of the Year because it is the first to combine scientifically-validated “biotic” ingredients, including a probiotic (beneficial bacteria), prebiotic (gut-friendly fiber), phytobiotic (anti-stress plant extract), and postbiotic (to reduce belly fat).

Read the full Science Focus article about how your microbiome might be driving your hunger HERE – and see some highlighted excerpts below…

Your gut microbiome could be telling your brain when you are hungry

Neurons in the brain that make us hungry can be turned off by a compound created by gut bacteria, researchers have found. Further understanding this gut-brain conversation could one day help treat obesity and metabolic diseases, such as diabetes.

The gut microbiome is the collection of bacteria, fungi and other microbes that live within our gastrointestinal tract. There are trillions of organisms to be found in our gut, some good and some bad. They help us get nutrients from our food, repair and replace the cell linings of our gut and our skin, and they even aid our immune system in the fight against invading pathogens.

Previous studies have found links between the make up of our microbiome and psychological factors like our mood. But the exact pathway by which our gut bacteria and our brain communicate hasn’t been identified.

This study suggests one possible answer – that bacteria in our gut can manipulate our feeding behaviour by releasing fragments that act as a message to the hypothalamus, the area of the brain that makes us feel hungry. These fragments, called muropeptides, are part of the bacteria’s cell wall. If the bacteria is dying, or growing, these pieces will break away and travel through our bloodstream.

“The hypothalamus is the brain centre for controlling hunger, thirst, body temperature, hormone release, among many things,” said Prof Gerard Eberl, one of the co-authors of the new study, of the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research.

There are neurons within the hypothalamus that make us hungry and there are those that block the feeling of hunger after eating. Previous studies have shown that the latter have a sensor that can detect bacterial fragments, but the team wanted to find out just how much influence the microbes could have on the brain.

To test this, scientists gave food containing these bacterial muropeptides to two groups of mice – one that had the neurons to detect the compound, and the other without.

Those that lacked the receptor were found to eat much more than the normal mice, gaining more weight. Their brain was not receiving the signal to stop. Then, when the researchers gave the normal mice a different compound that can also trigger the sensor, they noticed the mice were feeding less.

“It could be that this is a way for the gut bacteria to tell the brain: ‘stop eating that stuff, it makes us die’ or ‘it makes this bad bug proliferate over us’. My interpretation, however, is that these bacterial fragments reaching the brain is an indication that bacteria are growing or dying excessively in the gut, which is a health risk for the gut, for the individual [and thus for the bacteria living there],” said Eberl. “So, then the brain can make an association between this risk and that food, and give the order to eat less and make you feel full.”

When the gut microbiome is well-balanced, the individual and the bacteria thrive. But if this balance is upset by one species growing excessively, it could be dangerous for all involved, said Eberl.

Next, the team will need to test the same pathway in humans, research that could go on to aid the development of new treatments. In theory, obesity could be treated by changing the food that someone is eating, to change the bacteria’s reaction.

“In human studies, these bacterial fragments have been associated with sleeping disorders. Mutations [to the receptors] are associated with mood disorder and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s,” said Eberl. While there is still more to uncover about how our gut communicates with our brain, the new research shows just how influential our microbial hitchhikers can be.

World Unhappier, More Stressed Out Than Ever

Emotionally, the second year of the pandemic was an even tougher year for the world than the first one: Gallup’s Negative Experience Index reached a new high, and the Positive Experience Index dropped for the first time in years.
— Read on news.gallup.com/poll/394025/world-unhappier-stressed-ever.aspx