Feeling Down? New Research Suggests This Gut-Friendly Supplement Could Help

Ups and downs are a natural part of being human. No one, no matter how hard they try, wakes up feeling happy and upbeat every single day. But if you’ve been in a funk that just won’t lift, it might be more than just a rough week. And your gut health could be playing a bigger role in your mood than you realize, new research shows.

"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," says Katerina Johnson, PhD, study co-author and postdoctoral researcher in the Clinical Psychology Unit at the Institute of Psychology at Leiden University. 

The study, which was recently published in Nature Partner Journals, Mental Health Research followed 88 participants who hadn't taken any probiotics or antibiotics in the past three months and were not previously diagnosed with mental health issues.  

The participants were assigned to two different groups for four weeks: a group taking a probiotic and the other receiving a placebo. Each day, participants reported their moods, and at the beginning and end of the four weeks, they were asked a series of mental health-related questions.  

Related: This Little-Known Diet Could Be the Key to Longevity and Bone Health

According to researchers, this is the first study of its kind to utilize daily mood reports to assess the effects of probiotics. After around two weeks, participants in the group taking probiotics showed improvements in their mood.

"It is striking that by simply asking participants how they were feeling each day, we could detect the beneficial effects of probiotics on mood," says co-author Laura Steenbergen. "In contrast, the standard psychological questionnaires that are common in this field were not sensitive enough to pick up these changes." It took around two weeks for the probiotics to work their magic. 

Although more research is definitely needed, the hope is that one day probiotics could be used to help individuals with mental health issues. However, the authors also add that probiotics should not be considered a substitute for antidepressants at this time. 

"Perhaps in the future probiotics could be used in a targeted way as an early intervention to reduce the chances of negative feelings progressing to mental health conditions such as depression, though more research would be needed to confirm that," Steenbergen says.