A new study conducted by Katerina Johnson and Laura Steenbergen, published in npj Mental Health Research, suggests that probiotics, the “good” bacteria found in certain foods and supplements, can help reduce negative emotions such as anxiety, stress, and fatigue. The research also explores which individuals are most likely to benefit from these mood-boosting bacteria.
Probiotics, which are commonly available in drinks, tablets, and foods like yogurt, fermented cheese, and sauerkraut, have long been associated with gut health. Recently, there has been increasing interest in their potential to improve mental health as well. According to Johnson, “The gut–brain connection provides various routes through which bacteria in the gut can influence how we feel and behave, including via the vagus nerve, immune system, and hormones.”
Investigating the Impact on Mood
While previous animal studies have shown promising results linking probiotics to improved behavior and brain function, human studies have yielded mixed results. To address this, Johnson and Steenbergen utilized a range of methods to better understand how probiotics might help regulate emotions and mood. These methods included psychological questionnaires, daily mood reports, and computer tasks designed to assess emotional processing.
The study involved young, healthy adults who took a probiotic supplement containing bacteria such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium daily for a month. Remarkably, this study is the first to use daily mood reports to evaluate the effects of probiotics on mental well-being. The results demonstrated that probiotics significantly reduced negative feelings compared to a placebo, suggesting a potential benefit for individuals struggling with symptoms like anxiety, stress, or depressive tendencies.
“It is striking that by simply asking participants how they were feeling each day, we could detect the beneficial effects of probiotics on mood,” said Steenbergen. “In contrast, the standard psychological questionnaires commonly used in this field were not sensitive enough to capture these changes.”
A Gradual but Effective Solution
The researchers found that it took about two weeks for probiotics to show improvements in mood, similar to the time frame often associated with antidepressants. However, while antidepressants typically affect both negative and positive emotions, probiotics were found to specifically reduce negative moods without altering positive ones.
Despite these promising results, the researchers cautioned that probiotics should not be viewed as a replacement for antidepressants, particularly for individuals suffering from clinical depression or other mental health conditions.
Identifying Who Benefits Most
One of the key aspects of the study was its exploration of who might benefit most from probiotics. The researchers discovered that individuals with certain traits, particularly a tendency for risk avoidance, appeared to experience the greatest mood improvements from taking probiotics.
Additionally, probiotics seemed to improve participants’ ability to recognize emotional cues, with those taking the probiotics demonstrating slightly greater accuracy in identifying facial expressions.
Probiotics as a Targeted Intervention
While the findings are promising, many questions remain regarding the exact mechanisms by which probiotics influence mood, as well as their long-term effects. The researchers suggest that, in the future, probiotics could be used as a targeted intervention to prevent the progression of negative feelings into more serious mental health conditions, such as depression. However, they emphasize that further research is necessary to confirm these possibilities.
“We hope that our findings will encourage other mental health researchers to incorporate simple daily mood assessments into their studies,” said Steenbergen. “In an attempt to unravel the complexity of the human brain and emotions, we must not overlook the obvious. Sometimes, the most straightforward questions lead to the most meaningful insights.”
The study’s results offer an exciting glimpse into the potential mental health benefits of probiotics, though researchers agree that more investigation is needed before they can be used as a routine intervention for mental well-being.
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