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Hot spring baths shown to spice up gut health, study finds

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Hot spring baths shown to spice up gut health, study finds

In a recent study published within the journal Scientific Reports, researchers explored how bathing in Japanese hot springs affects the gut microbiota of healthy individuals. Their results provide fascinating insights into the advantages of using therapeutic springs.

Study: Effects of bathing in numerous hot spring types on Japanese gut microbiota. Image Credit: PR Image Factory / Shutterstock

Background

Drinking or bathing in hot spring or mineral water, known as balneotherapy, is thought to profit several health conditions. Individuals with skin and musculoskeletal diseases may profit from improved quality of life and sleep, while hot spring baths can also improve hypertension, stress, heart problems, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, and gynecological, rheumatological, and dermatological symptoms. Balneotherapy is assumed to enhance outcomes in individuals with psoriasis and atopic dermatitis by influencing the skin and gut microbiota.

Japan’s Hot Spring Law defines ten different categories or ‘spa types’ of therapeutic hot springs based on the substances they contain and their respective concentrations. The differences between these distinct types by way of therapeutic advantages haven’t been studied. Further, it’s unknown how they could affect healthy individuals without pre-existing health conditions.

Concerning the study

This study examined how bathing in numerous categories of hot springs affects the gut microbiome in a sample of healthy individuals. Participants were recruited in the event that they were between 18 and 65 years old, living within the Kyushu area, had not taken a hot spring bath within the previous two weeks, and didn’t suffer from any chronic illness.

Participants were asked to decide on a hot spring facility and soak in the identical tub for at the very least 20 minutes each day for seven consecutive days. Outside of the each day baths, they continued to follow their on a regular basis routines and regular mealtimes and were requested to avoid excessive drinking and overeating. Individuals who were unable to follow these criteria were excluded from the evaluation. Each participant collected their fecal samples before and after the experiment. These were analyzed to discover gut microbiota and find probably the most common genera.

Findings

A complete of 127 participants, including 52 females, accomplished the study and had their fecal samples analyzed. The varieties of hot springs they visited were easy, chloride, bicarbonate, and sulfur. Springs were categorized as easy in the event that they had a temperature of over 25°C and lower than 1g/kg of dissolved substances; chloride in the event that they contained greater than 1g/kg of chlorine, sulfur in the event that they contained 2 or more mg/kg of sulfur, and bicarbonate if it contained greater than 1 g/kg of dissolved HCO3.

Comparisons of the relative abundance of gut microbiota before and after hot spring bathing. One of the stacked bars corresponds to one individual. Each hot spring bathing group is shown as a single mass, arranged starting with the individual with the highest Bifidobacterium bifidum value on the left. The upper row indicates before bathing, and the lower row indicates after bathing. The order of individuals is not identical in the upper and lower rows. ‘Bicarb.’ indicates ‘Bicarbonate’.Comparisons of the relative abundance of gut microbiota before and after hot spring bathing. Considered one of the stacked bars corresponds to 1 individual. Each hot spring bathing group is shown as a single mass, arranged starting with the person with the best Bifidobacterium bifidum value on the left. The upper row indicates before bathing, and the lower row indicates after bathing. The order of people will not be an identical within the upper and lower rows. ‘Bicarb.’ indicates ‘Bicarbonate’.

Seven bacteria showed significant increases after the showering experiment, including Oscillibacter and Parabacteroides in the easy spring bathers, Ruminococcus, Oscillibacter, and Bifidobacterium bifidum within the bicarbonate spring bathers, and Alistipes and one other species of Ruminococcus among the many sulfur spring bathers. Of those, Oscillibacter was the one bacterium present in a couple of group. There have been no significant changes before and after the showering intervention for people using the chloride springs.

Of those bacteria, B. bifidum showed probably the most significant change, with individuals exhibiting a 2.8% increase after they bathed in bicarbonate springs. Using easy springs was related to a 0.7% increase in Parabacteroides. Oscillibacter, which increased in two groups, rose by 0.31% in those using bicarbonate springs and 0.14% in those using easy springs. Sulfur springs increased Alistipes concentrations by 1.5% and Ruminococcus2 by 0.87%.

Conclusions

The findings from this study, which is the primary to have a look at the consequences of hot spring bathing on gut microbiota, indicate that the unique mineral properties of various hot spring types can distinctly modify the gut microbiome by increasing the concentrations of some bacteria. Further research can draw on these baseline findings to ascertain how these unique chemical profiles may be used to focus on specific microbe responses.

The rise in B. bifidum concentrations in users of bicarbonate springs is of particular interest since it is thought to extend glucose tolerance, alleviate constipation, strengthen gut immunity, and be protective against enteropathogenic infections. Other bacteria have mixed effects – Parabacteroides may worsen the symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) but are also related to longevity.

The authors note that a big limitation of this study is the dearth of a control group and the usage of a before-after comparison. Future studies can use a ‘sauna control’ or include a ‘no bathing’ group to handle this issue while also drawing on people from other communities and populations to make sure generalizability. Further work on this field can discover improved therapies for people with different health issues, ensuring the rise in healthy bacteria while also limiting increases in less useful genera.

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