Most people associate probiotics with gut health, as this is one of the top health benefits of probiotics. Nevertheless, these essential microbes also play an important role in your mental health. Your stomach and brain are intimately connected and whatever you eat can affect your mood. Multiple biochemical signals transmitted between your stomach and the central nervous system (CNS) serve this gut-brain interconnection. This blog post will focus on how probiotics can play a limited, but significant role in boosting mental health for some people.
Probiotics and Mental Health
We have all experienced a ‘gut feeling’ at one point in our lives. Most times, we tend to ignore this intuition even though it later proves to be the right call. Scientists today have substantiated the ‘feeling’ to originate from the enteric nervous system (ENS). The ENS is the body’s second brain and is interlinked with the CNS to form the gut-brain axis (GBA). This association is manifested when you are anxious and you experience butterflies in your stomach. Also, you’ll notice how some people experience a loss of appetite after receiving sad news. Generally, the microbes living inside your gut do more than just facilitate digestion. These organisms affect your mood, sleep, stress response, and cognitive abilities.
Current Studies
The available research shows that probiotics have a positive impact on our mood. Additionally, these microbes can enhance our cognitive ability and improve productivity.
Further studies show that probiotics can help with different psychiatric conditions such as depression and anxiety. Furthermore, a rich presence of gut microbes tends to improve sleep which benefits your cognitive performance. Harvard Health even recently posted an article showing how probiotics may be able to help bipolar patients after they are hospitalized, by reducing the risk of them relapsing.
The microbes inside your body produce different neurotransmitters that affect how we feel, our sleep habits, and our appetite. Also, these microorganisms actively decrease the extent of inflammation which is a significant cause of depression. For this reason, anti-inflammatory nutraceutical products such as turmeric may also help with depression. The ongoing research on how probiotics could be used to treat autism equally looks promising. The trials have a multi-pronged approach. In one instance, doctors could accurately determine which patients would benefit from probiotics or alternate treatments.
Other Health Benefits
Your gut hosts different microbes and probiotics encourage these beneficial bacteria to flourish. The microorganism in your gut system promote digestion and maintain a healthy gut.
Besides improving fiber breakdown, probiotics can reduce diarrhea or prevent it altogether. Diarrhea is often associated with antibiotic use because the medications unbalance microorganisms inside your gut system.
Probiotics also impact other conditions that target your bowel. You could get relief against inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s disease, and enterocolitis.
Lastly, probiotics can strengthen your immune response. Poor immunity stems from a higher population of unhealthy gut microbes. Probiotic supplements stimulate an increase in positive microbial culture inside your body.
Sources and Risks
Different foods have a healthy dose of probiotics. Mostly, fermented products have an extensive probiotic culture that instantly benefits your gut system. You can therefore try out sauerkraut which is fermented cabbage, yogurt, kefir, and other pickled veggies.
Additionally, you can also try out a range of probiotic supplements if you do not want to consume foods with probiotics such as kimchi or yogurt. Over-the-counter products are mostly in tablet form and can bypass stomach acids better than foods.
The presence of microorganisms inside our gut means that probiotics are inherently safe. Usually, our bodies host multiple microbes that carry out various tasks. Moreover, several foods are loaded with probiotics.
Still, you can never be entirely sure. For instance, the immunity of cancer patients is severely weakened. In this case, probiotics will overwork their immune system. You have to seek your doctor’s opinion before including probiotics in your treatment plan. Remember to mention whether you have a chronic disease and the medication that you are taking.
Takeaway
There are several studies on probiotics for mental health with positive results. The potential for the use of probiotics in mental health treatment is promising, as there are numerous health benefits of probiotics.
Nevertheless, many researchers agree on the need for larger trials. A bigger scope will conclusively ascertain the full impact of probiotics on different mental health conditions. In the meantime, you can still try out various probiotic supplements and follow your doctor’s guidance.
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