Monks practising deep Tibetan meditation make healthy bacteria in gut

Kaya Burgess

The Times

Gerry Gajadharsingh writes:

“The research keeps on building regarding how important our gut Microbiome’s are for both physical and mental health. The research below on Tibetan, monks who meditated for two hours a day focuses on how the meditation supports our good gut bacteria. Which again demonstrates the importance of the gut brain access working both ways. The right messages coming from the brain and autonomic nervous system supporting the gut Microbiome and a healthy gut Microbiome supporting both physical and mental health. Interesting point at the end regarding the suspicion that Parkinson’s may start in the gut and spread to the brain.” By the way, most of us, probably can’t spend two hours a day meditating, but I think you get the point of how important is to support the relaxation part of our nervous system.

Tibetan monks who meditate for two hours a day enjoy not only spiritual calm, but better health thanks to “good” gut bacteria, research has suggested. Scientists have discovered that meditation may boost friendly bacteria found in the gut, helping to improve physical and mental health. Researchers from China analysed Buddhist monks and compared their microbiomes, the ecosystem of bacteria found in the gut, with those of other local residents who shared the same diets but did not meditate.

The “gut microbiota composition differed between the monks and the control subjects”, and the monks had far higher levels of bacteria “associated with a reduced risk of anxiety, depression and cardiovascular disease”. The study, in the journal General Psychiatry, concluded: “We confirmed that long-term deep meditation, represented by Tibetan Buddhism, could positively impact physical and mental health by regulating faecal microbiota.”

There is increasing evidence that the mixture of micro-organisms found in the gut and intestinal tract plays a key role in regulating health. It is central to the digestion of food but has also been linked to the functioning of the immune system, to mood and to brain function, as well as to a range of conditions including cancers and neurodegenerative diseases.

Researchers from three centres in Shanghai, including the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, analysed stool and blood samples from 37 Tibetan Buddhist monks and 19 residents in neighbouring areas. The study noted that they were matched for age, blood pressure, heart rate, smoking and drinking, and said: “Both groups had the same dietary structure. The staple food mainly included highland barley, rice, steamed bread and noodles, and the supplementary food primarily comprised vegetables, meat and butter tea.”

None had taken any antibiotics or probiotics that could have affected their microbiome. The monks had been practising meditation for at least two hours a day for between three and 30 years. In the monks 42 per cent of the microbiome was made up of prevotella bacteria, compared with only 6 per cent for nearby residents. Twenty-nine per cent was made up of bacteroidetes bacteria, compared with 4 per cent in the control group.

Both of these groups of bacteria have been “associated with the alleviation of mental illness”, the researchers said, “suggesting that meditation can influence certain bacteria that may have a role in mental health”.

The researchers tried to identify which processes in the body could be positively affected by meditation.

Molecules found on the surface of bacterial cells, including glycans and lipopolysaccharides, can affect the pathways in the body that govern inflammation and metabolism, which are both linked to a range of physical and mental conditions.

Behind the story

Advertisements for yoghurt-type drinks over the years have extolled the virtues of “good bacteria” in the gut.

Although the effectiveness of those drinks remains a source of debate, there is no longer any doubt that the ecosystem of microbes that dwell within your intestinal tract plays a key role in the way your body functions.

Evidence is building that it is important to maintain a healthy and diverse community of bacteria in your gut. There are also concerns that the widespread use of antibiotics may be killing off many of the friendly bacteria we rely on. A study found that patients having immunotherapy for melanoma responded differently depending on the types of microbes found in their system. A study this week from the University of Surrey suggested that Parkinson’s disease may start in the gut and spread to the brain.