Do Probiotics Help Relieve Anxiety?

In the fast paced world of today who doesn’t experience a little anxiety? Although a certain degree of stress is normal, when anxiety becomes overwhelming it sometimes requires the short term use of anti-anxiety medications until more healthy coping responses can be established. Unfortunately, many of the commonly used anti-anxiety medications carry with them significant side effects which is why so many people are searching for natural solutions to ease anxiety. Interestingly, probiotic supplements, shown to be effective in maintaining digestive health and a healthy immune system, may also help to ease anxiety.

According to a study published in the medical journal Gut Pathogens, the good bacteria found in probiotic supplements may provide a natural way for people with chronic fatigue syndrome to ease anxiety symptoms. A group of thirty-nine chronic fatigue syndrome sufferers were given either a probiotic supplement once a day or a placebo for a period of eight weeks. At the end of the eight week period, the group who received the probiotic supplement had reduced symptoms of anxiety when compared to the placebo group.

This isn’t the first study to show that probiotics ease anxiety symptoms and help to improve mood. Another study carried out in the U.K. also yielded similar results. The researchers emphasized that this current study is only a precursor to a full study exploring this association and more research is needed to confirm these results.

How might probiotic supplements ease anxiety symptoms? As you probably already know, probiotics are made up of good bacteria that help to maintain the health of the digestive tract and immune system. While it’s not clear exactly how these probiotics might relieve the symptoms of anxiety, it’s thought that they increase the production of “feel good” chemicals that affect how the brain responds to stress. There’s also some evidence that the bacteria found in probiotics may help to relieve the symptoms of depression too. This opens up a whole new area of study – how intestinal bacteria affect mood.

If you’re looking for a way to ease anxiety, it may be premature to use probiotics for this purpose, but probiotics offer a substantial number of health benefits that are important for overall health. To get the benefits of probiotics there’s no need to rush out and buy an expensive probiotic supplement. You can get your share of probiotics through diet by adding more fermented foods and yogurt containing active bacterial cultures to your diet. The result will be better digestive health and if it makes you feel calmer – all the better.