Given all the content out there on the topic, it might seem like gut health is the latest wellness fad. But it’s scientifically proven that your gut health affects your digestive system, immune system, nervous system, endocrine system, and more, according to Cleveland Clinic. One way to boost the good bacteria in your gut is by taking probiotics—and new research shows that doing so can also improve your mental health.
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What is the connection between the gut and the brain?
Before we delve into the latest study, let’s first have a quick explanation of how your gut microbiome affects the brain—better known as the gut-brain connection.
The enteric nervous system (ENS) lines your entire gastrointestinal tract, and it’s comprised of more than 500 million neurons, the most outside of the brain.
“Certain [gut] bacteria actually produce or stimulate the production of neurotransmitters (like serotonin) that send chemical signals to your brain,” Cleveland Clinic explains.
This is especially important because, as Johns Hopkins Medicine notes, between 30 and 40 percent of the population have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or functional bowel problems such as constipation, diarrhea, and bloating—and those with these conditions have above-average rates of depression and anxiety.
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Can probiotics improve mental health?
A new study published in the journal npj Mental Health Research looked at how probiotics—supplements that contain “good” gut bacteria—affect mood.
Researchers enlisted 88 healthy volunteers, half of whom took a daily probiotic for a month and half of whom were in a placebo group. Both groups completed psychological questionnaires, daily mood reports, and “computer tasks testing how people process emotions,” reports Medical Xpress.
Based on the daily mood reports, “We find clear evidence that probiotics reduce negative mood, starting after two weeks,” the researchers wrote in the study.
“It is striking that by simply asking participants how they were feeling each day, we could detect the beneficial effects of probiotics on mood,” study co-author Laura Steenbergen told Medical Xpress. “In contrast, the standard psychological questionnaires that are common in this field were not sensitive enough to pick up these changes.”
The researchers also note that certain individuals may benefit most from probiotics: “We found that various traits, most notably a propensity for risk avoidance, were associated with a greater effect of probiotics on mood,” co-author Katerina Johnson said.
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Certain probiotics may be more beneficial than others.
For the study, participants took a probiotic supplement containing the bacteria strains Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. Johns Hopkins Medicine notes that these are the two strains “most commonly used to treat GI issues” in the U.S.
Of course, there are countless other types of probiotics out there, but like all supplements, they are not regulated in the same way as medicines.
“By the time you buy a probiotic off the shelf, there’s no way to know if the bacteria in it are as active as they were as when the product was made,” Johns Hopkins explains. “In addition, each person may have different types and numbers of bacteria in their gut. This means the probiotic that works for one person might not work for another.”
It’s also worth noting that many foods are naturally high in probiotics. These include yogurt and fermented foods like kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut, and kombucha.
However, the study authors point out that probiotics should not be used as a substitute for antidepressants or in lieu of seeking professional mental health advice.
“Perhaps in the future probiotics could be used in a targeted way as an early intervention to reduce the chances of negative feelings progressing to mental health conditions such as depression, though more research would be needed to confirm that,” said Steenbergen.
Content shared from bestlifeonline.com.