By Michael Roizen, M.D., And Mehmet Oz, M.D.


Use prebiotics to de-stress

A list of movies rumored currently to be in pre-production sounds like a formula for disaster: "Black Hole," "Rampage," "Uncharted," "Monster"! But a list of prebiotics - well, that's a setup for feeling calm and sleeping well, according to the latest lab study published in the BMJ's Archives of Disease in Childhood.

Researchers in Spain and Scotland tested the ability of a prebiotic protein, lactoferrin, to reverse stress-response damage to your gut biome and to see if it could help restore normal sleep patterns, which can be disrupted by stressful events. It seems that cranked-up levels of stress hormones and other stress-related physiological responses, affecting everything from blood flow to the innate immune system, can make it hard for healthy gut bacteria to thrive.

Their discovery: Although you get most of your prebiotics from non-digestible fiber found in veggies, cereals like steel-cut oats and beans, both lactoferrin and nondigestible fiber nurture beneficial gut bacteria and protect you and your gut bugs from stress-induced disruptions. That helps explain just how soothing mother's milk can be to an infant (breast milk is packed with lactoferrin; cow's milk ranks No. 2) and why prebiotics are essential for overall good health and a good night's sleep throughout your life.

So here's a preview of the prebiotics that'll help you sleep well and keep your stress response in check.

-Veggies: Jerusalem artichokes, garlic, onions, leeks, asparagus, beets, fennel, green peas, Savoy cabbage, legumes.

-Fruits: nectarines, white peaches, persimmon, watermelon, grapefruit, pomegranate.

-Nuts and seeds: cashews, pistachios.

© 2017 Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D.
Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

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