Help for anxiety or depression could come naturally

Probiotics might help your depression. Surprised? I sure was when I reviewed this article — so let’s dig into the data.

Microbiome refers to the full array of microorganisms (the microbiota) that live on and in us. We’re just discovering how useful our “natural and living” bacteria can be to our health, and when disrupted can cause disease. Many people with irritable bowel syndrome suffer from an imbalance in their gut which contributes to their discomfort. We’ve just started to do gut transplants for people with intractable IBS and other bowel problems — and they work.

Probiotics are living or hibernating as spores, bacteria or yeasts that are sold as capsules, tablets, powders, chewing gums, gummies and lozenges, and cultured foods such as yogurt or kefir. They help your gastrointestinal microbiome stay healthy.

Prebiotics are non-digestible plant fibers (mostly carbohydrates) that act as beneficial food for your gut microbiome. They pass through the upper gastrointestinal tract undigested, reaching the colon where they are fermented by your beneficial microbes to improve gut health.

Kombucha is primarily considered a probiotic beverage because it contains live bacteria and yeast and has prebiotic properties because it contains polyphenols and fiber-modified ingredients that nourish beneficial gut bacteria.

Now here was the provocative question: Does the microbiome play a role in depression and anxiety? A study a few years ago published in the BMJ showed that some who took probiotics, especially supplemented with prebiotics, might just find an easing in their depression and anxiety.

In the UK there is one insurance company called the government. They have one database which tracks pretty much everybody in the country. In 2016, 1.5 million people were referred for mental health issues; half of them had anxiety and a third had depression.

They theorize that there is a two-way relationship that exists between the brain and digestive tract, known as the gut-brain axis. And the possibility that the microbiome — the range and number of bacteria, the good guys, resident in the gut — might help treat mental health issues. This is not the first time this relationship has been postulated — it’s been kicked around for years.

So they looked at relevant studies published in England between 2003 and 2019, which looked at the potential therapeutic contribution of pre- and probiotics in adults with depression and/or anxiety disorders. Out of an initial haul of 71 studies, just seven met all the criteria for inclusion. All seven investigated at least one probiotic strain while four looked at the effect of combinations of multiple strains.

In all, 12 probiotic strains were featured in the selected studies, primarily Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei and Bifidobacterium bifidium. One study looked at combined pre-probiotic treatment, while one looked at prebiotic therapy by itself. The studies varied considerably in their design but all used standard methods, questionnaires with scoring, to see if depression and anxiety improved.

All of them concluded that probiotic supplements either alone or especially in combination with prebiotics were linked to measurable reductions in depression. Every study showed a significant improvement in depression and anxiety.

The theory is that probiotics may help reduce the production of inflammatory chemicals, such as cytokines, as is the case with inflammatory bowel disease, that may influence other chemicals such as tryptophan, a chemical thought to be important in the gut-brain axis in psychiatric disorders.

Natural prebiotics include onions, garlic, bananas, leeks, chicory root (popular for its coffee-like flavor) and dandelion greens. Just Google it and you’ll find more of them.

Natural probiotics include yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, tempeh, kimchi, miso, kombucha, pickles, buttermilk and some cheese.

My spin: None of the studies lasted very long, many of the studies were small, and the number of participants in each were not large. So the conclusions made have to be tempered.

But if you suffer from depression and anxiety, you might want to try probiotics and prebiotics to see if they help you. There is no harm, no foul, and they might work. And if I were to try it, I would start with Mother Nature, the foods I mentioned and others you can find on the net — not with industrialized products. Food first, pills second.