From: houndpup23x@gmail.com   
      
   Vitality   
      
   The Mental Health Benefits Of Probiotics: 'Good Bacteria' May Improve Mood,   
   Fight   
   Depression   
      
   Apr 11, 2015 12:17 PM   
   By   
   Lecia Bushak   
   Yogurt   
      
   Probiotics are found in Greek yogurt, but can also be taken as supplements.   
   Photo courtesy of Shutterstock   
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   Lately, probiotics have become pretty well-known in media health reports as   
   crucial bacteria and yeasts that thrive in, and benefit, your digestive   
   system. Unlike the bad bacteria that can cause colds and other diseases,   
   probiotics are the good guys; the    
   beneficial bacteria that are necessary to maintaining good health.   
      
   Probiotics help treat irritable bowel syndrome, infectious diarrhea,   
   (potentially) some skin conditions, as well as aiding oral health. They're   
   often found in Greek yogurts and can also be ingested in supplement form to   
   help maintain balance in your gut.    
   While plenty of research shows their value in keeping your gut healthy, there   
   hasn't been enough research looking into their overall health benefits. But   
   now scientists are beginning to grasp what those are.   
      
   A new study out of the Leiden Institute of Brain and Cognition at Leiden   
   University in the Netherlands suggests that probiotics may actually aid in   
   improving mood. They might be a good way to fight anxiety or depression, or   
   simply make you feel better    
   after a bad day.   
      
      
   The researchers examined 40 healthy young adults who had no mood disorders.   
   Half of them consumed a powdered probiotic supplement every night for four   
   weeks. The probiotic supplement was called Ecologic Barrier, and contains   
   eight types of bacteria, such    
   as Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and Lactococcus (these three types of   
   bacteria that have been shown in the past to mitigate anxiety and depression).   
   The other half of the participants took a placebo, although they thought they   
   were taking probiotics.   
      
   The people who took probiotic supplements began to see improvements in their   
   moods; they reported less reactivity to sad moods than those who took   
   placebos. In other words, the people who took probiotic supplements were   
   better able to overcome sad moods    
   than the others, and thus had fewer depressive thoughts following bouts of   
   sadness.   
      
   "Even if preliminary, these results provide the first evidence that the intake   
   of probiotics may help reduce negative thoughts associated with sad mood,"   
   said Lorenza S. Colzato, an author of the study, according to Time. "As such,   
   our findings shed an    
   interesting new light on the potential of probiotics to serve as adjuvant or   
   preventive therapy for depression."   
      
      
   According to a 2013 study that investigated the link between intestinal   
   bacteria and mental health, not much is known about the ways that the   
   gastrointestinal tract influences mood and behavioral disorders. The authors   
   note that there was scientific    
   interest in this link in the early 20th century, but there hasn't been much   
   research until recently. One of those recent studies examined this link and   
   found that people who took probiotics experienced lower levels of anxiety and   
   depression, and had    
   lower levels of cortisol -- the stress hormone -- in their saliva when they   
   woke up in the morning.   
      
   However, more research will be needed to decide whether taking probiotic   
   supplements can actually improve mood. In the meantime, eat your Greek yogurt   
   daily to keep your gut bacteria happy, and who knows, it might have a positive   
   effect on your mental    
   health too.   
      
   Source: Steenbergen L, Sellaro R, van Hemert S, Bosch J, Colzato L. A   
   randomized controlled trial to test the effect of multispecies probiotics on   
   cognitive reactivity to sad mood. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 2015.   
      
      
      
      
   http://www.medicaldaily.com/mental-health-benefits-probiotics-go   
   d-bacteria-may-improve-mood-fight-depression-328882   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)