People who celebrate Christmas with their in-laws get stressed out. Could that possibly be true?
What started out as a joke between two colleagues from the the Academic Medical Centre and VU University Amsterdam turned into bona fide scientific research published in Human Microbiome Journal. We all probably experience that Christmas can be a stressful, busy time but could the extra contact with your in-laws play such a detrimental role? Scientists word this as ‘increased contact with in-laws during the holiday season is an important environmental factor known to affect both physical and mental health’
It turned out that 24 colleagues were willing to serve as test subjects. There were two groups: colleagues who went to their in-laws and colleagues who did not see their partner’s family. The participants delivered a poo sample before Christmas (23rd December) and again on 27th December (the day after Boxing Day).
The result was striking. In people who had been to their in-laws, there was a decrease in all types of the Ruminococcus species of bacteria in the intestines. It is believed that this type of bacteria has protects against depression and psychological stress. The lower levels following the Christmas visit suggest that the bacteria were ‘used up’ in trying to buffer the person against the in-laws.
The researchers end the paper with a sentence that tickled me: A larger randomized controlled study is needed to reproduce these findings before we can recognize in-laws as a potential risk factor for the gut microbiota composition and subsequently health.
Have a wonderful festive season – wherever you decide to celebrate it – and I’ll be back in January to help you get 2020 off to a fulfilling start!
REFERENCES:
Nicolien C. de Clercq et al. The effect of having Christmas dinner with in-laws on gut microbiota composition. Human Microbiome Journal, Volume 13, 100058 (August 2019).
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452231719300090