Probiotics show promise for improving daily mood |
Beneficial gut bacteria may help reduce negative feelings at about the same time it takes antidepressants to begin working, according to new research. The randomized controlled trial followed 88 healthy participants with no previous mental health diagnoses, with half receiving probiotics and half taking placebos for 4 weeks.
In addition to completing standard mental health questionnaires at the beginning and end of the study, each participant supplied a daily report on their mood. This approach captured subtle emotional changes that traditional assessments often miss. It also revealed that probiotics specifically helped reduce negative emotions.
Improvements began around the 2-week mark, comparable to the timeline for conventional antidepressants. This suggests that both antidepressants and probiotics work through shared pathways. These include the vagus nerve (the main connection between the gut and brain) and their anti-inflammatory effects.
“By monitoring people daily, rather than just assessing them before and after, it gives us much better resolution of changes over time,” explained Dr. Katerina Johnson, co-lead author. “Our research has promising implications [...] it’s possible that in the future probiotics could be used in a targeted way to help prevent low mood progressing to conditions like depression.”
To learn which specific probiotic strains showed the strongest effects, and how to get more beneficial bacteria into your diet without supplements, jump to “How probiotics could help boost your daily mood.”
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