Your gut and your brain may be in a long-distance relationship, but their effects on each another’s health is closer than you might think.
A review of current research indicates that probiotics may help reduce symptoms of depression. Probiotics are the live bacteria and yeasts that are beneficial to the digestive system, and are present in foods such as yogurt. But how does something you eat affect your brain?
Enter the gut-brain axis.
This term is used to describe the relationship between an individual’s gut microbiome, or system of microorganisms living in the gut, and the central nervous system, which includes the brain. Signals that pass between a person’s gut and their central nervous system keep both functioning properly.
Researchers believe the health of the gut microbiome can affect some central nervous system disorders, including mental health illnesses like depression. Depression is a mood disorder that is associated with a range of symptoms beyond sadness, such as feeling angry, worthless, helpless or guilty. A common symptom is a lack of interest in hobbies and other activities, as well as difficulty concentrating or sleeping.
Notably, although the review found that probiotic or mixed prebiotic and probiotic interventions were capable of reducing depression’s symptoms, there was minimal evidence for them reducing anxiety.
Further research is needed to better understand these effects. But researchers suggest that if probiotics have the potential to lessen an individual’s depressive symptoms, they may be one of the more potent tools when it comes to broadly improving mental health.