Gut Health: Probiotics for Mood

✨✨ NEW RESEARCH says taking probiotics might boost your mood ✨✨

A review of 7 studies found that taking probiotics or prebiotics might be helpful for people struggling with anxiety or depression. Most of the studies used probiotics like Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, or Bifidobacterium bifidum.

Probiotics are the good bacteria that inhabit your gut. Prebiotics are types of fiber that feed those good bacteria. Here’s how optimizing the gut microbiota might affect mood:

👉 Gut microbiota interact with the vagus nerve (the nerve that communicates between the gut and the brain in both directions)

👉 Gut microbiota influence production of signaling molecules that go into circulation and even to the brain

👉Gut microbiota influence the activity of tryptophan, which is a precursor serotonin

Scientists call it the gut-brain-axis. “The gut-brain axis is a bio-directional communication between the central and the enteric (by way of intestines) nervous system, linking emotional and cognitive centers of the brain with peripheral intestinal functions”. 🤯

It’s all pretty complicated. 🤓

 

“The gut-brain axis is a bio-directional communication between the central and the enteric (by way of intestines) nervous system, linking emotional and cognitive centers of the brain with peripheral intestinal functions”

ibs, probiotic, gut

What matters is that GUT HEALTH CAN AFFECT YOUR MOOD. Taking probiotics is one of many things you can do to improve your gut health. We’d love to help you out with even more ideas and a personalized protocol. Call our office to learn how we can help!

My favorite supplements to support gut health include:

  • L-Glutamine
  • Digestive enzymes
  • Megaspore Probiotics
  • EHB by Integrative Therapeutics
Reference

Noonan S, Zaveri M, Macaninch E, Martyn K. Food & mood: a review of supplementary prebiotic and probiotic interventions in the treatment of anxiety and depression in adults. BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health. 2020.

https://nutrition.bmj.com/content/early/2020/06/09/bmjnph-2019-000053

 

Carabotti,M.,Scirocco,A.Maselli, MA.,Severi,C. The gut-brain axis: interactions between enteric microbiota, central and enteric nervous systems. 2015,April 28 v.28(2) PMC4367209 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4367209/

 

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