Prebiotic and probiotic foods can help relieve symptoms of anxiety and depression according to a meta-study by the University of Sussex in the UK.
There have been several previous studies suggesting that mood can be influenced by food. The microbiome controls not just our physical biochemistry but our mental biochemistry too. Feed the right foods to the right bacteria and research has shown moods can change. For example, we have previously covered research linking depression to gut microbes:
Go to: Depression a symptom of bacterial population in gut
Now researchers from the University of Sussex and Brighton and Sussex Medical School have conducted a meta-analysis of research studies (1). After reviewing 71 studies from the period 2003 to 2019, seven met the criteria set.
Patients suffering from anxiety and depression received clear symptom benefits from probiotics and their prebiotic foods. In studies where IBS was an issue, these results were enhanced.
Maybe we should start throwing away all those pills like Prozac, and concentrate on restoring a healthy gut microbiome through probiotic supplements and commensal bacteria boosting foods.
Go to: Foods that boost good gut bacteria
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Reference
- https://nutrition.bmj.com/content/early/2020/06/
09/bmjnph-2019-000053. Noonan S, Zaveri M, Macaninch E and Martyn K (2020) Food and Mood: a review of supplementary prebiotic and probiotic interventions in the treatment of anxity and depression.
