Best Probiotic for Mental Health? When I first heard this I have to admit to thinking – youv'e got to be kidding, right….? How can something like yoghurt improve mental health!??
Having struggled to get to grips with my own mental health at times in recent years, at my lowest points I was willing to give anything a go. What surprised me was that a balanced diet, that included probiotic supplements, had a very noticeable and positive effect.
Since then, I haven't looked back. I make sure that I include these super-bacteria in my daily regime.
Not convinced? Keep reading and lets se if I can persuade you.
Not all probiotics are the same. It can be hard to know which ones work best for your brain.
Probiotics have become more and more popular in recent years. Probiotic foods, such as yogurt or kimchi, are good for you. You might also take a probiotic supplement every day so that it can help with your health, and evidence now suffests that this includes improving mental health issues.
Your body naturally has good bacteria in it. And bad bacteria. There is a balance between the two, and disruptions can lead to different health problems and this may also lead to an increase in mental health symptoms.
In recent years, some experts have studied a group of bacteria called psychobiotics. These bacteria can help people with mental health conditions, such as depression. They might also be able to make someone happy.
Best Probiotic for Depression
There are two types of bacteria that can help with depression and anxiety: Lactobacillus helveticus and Bifidobacterium longum. People who have depression can try this as a daily probiotic supplement as part of their treatment.
A study showed that people who had these bacteria in their body were likely to be more positive and improve mental health than those who did not. It was shown that that taking Lactobacillus helveticus R0052 and Bifidobacterium longum R0175 (PF) for 30 days can help you feel better and help with mental health conditions. People who took the medicine for hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADs), had a decrease in their depression and anxiety and other mental health issues. Some people even reported getting excellent results.
“Lactobacillus helveticus and bifidobacterium longum decrease the motivation to eat an unhealthy diet”
Here's a list of daily supplements I have tried for helping to improve my mental health and are regarded as the best probiotic supplements for mental health:
Complete Probiotics Platinum® helps encourage the digestive tract’s normal microbial balance, promoting gut, and immune system health.*
- Guaranteed 51 Billion Powerful Colony-Forming Units (CFUs)
- 11 Robust, Potent Probiotic Strains
- Delayed-release capsules ensure probiotics safely reach intestines
- Nutraflora® Prebiotic nourishes probiotics to optimize effectiveness*
- Dairy-Free, Non-GMO, Gluten-Free, Soy-Free, Preservative-Free
The Targeted Probiotics with Mood and Digestion support help target digestive, immune, and mood imbalances. The formula is ideal for sensitive systems that may need more gentle treatment. This is an economical option for those needing to replenish their probiotic levels.*
The active ingredients in this formula are Lactobacillus Rhamnosus GG ( human-strain), Bifidobacterium lactis (animal-strain) and Saccharomyces Cerevisiae (yeast).*
This product does not contain prebiotics or fillers.*It contains a whopping 30 billion CFU per capsule*for a 2 month supply!
Garden of Life Dr. Formulated Probiotics
- Packed with the clinically studied probiotics L. helveticus ROO52 and B. longum RO175,
- Mood Probiotic also contains Organic Ashwagandha and Alaskan Blueberry for stress management and includes a prebiotic blend of Organic Acacia and Potatoes to supplement your gut health with good bacteria –
- All in just one serving per day!
- Start feeling better today with Mood Probiotic from Doctor Formulated, backed by science to offer relief from all of life's ailments.
Best Psychobiotics for Depression
It is hard to believe you can improve mental health by changing the bacteria in your gut. But there have been a lot of studies that show this is true. The best way to do it is to take a type of medicine called a psychobiotic.
So What Are Psychobiotics?
Psychobiotics are live organisms that, when taken in the right amount, can help people with mental health conditions. These live organisms can help people who have a psychiatric illness.
But this definition, coined in 2013, is too limiting. The latest research shows that you don't need to have clinical depression, an anxiety disorder or other mental health conditions to benefit from psychobiotics.
The Best Psychobiotics for depression and to improve mental health are those that contain the probiotics Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, and Bifidobacterium bifidum
I have tried and recommend any of the following 3 pshychobiotic supplements:
Pro-Daily is a high quality probiotic supplement containing thirteen strains of live cultures and nutritious greens. It uses a patented delayed release capsule to protect the live organisms and delivers more cultures and ensures maximum efficacy.
- Probiotics Made in the USA. This is a supplement with healthy ingredients that you can take to help your body stay healthy and strong.
- The HELIX PRIME Prebiotic and Probiotic for Adult Women and Men contains only high quality ingredients that are good for you. We add other things, like Chicory Root, Acacia Senegal Fiber, Jerusalem Artichoke Root, to our Women’s & Men’s Prebiotics & Probiotics Supplement too.
- Our premium Probiotic Supplement with Prebiotics has 60 Billion CFU per serving to keep your body young and healthy while supporting your digestive system and nervous system.
- 15-Strain optimal probiotic blend for optimal potency
- 20 Billion CFU
- Probiotic strains are in part derived from fruit and vegetable fermentation
- Probiotic with Prebiotics and Postbiotics
- Third-Party Lab tested to ensure potency and stability
- Formulated by a board-certified doctor with 20+ years of experience
- Shelf Stable, no refrigeration required
- Vegan and manufactured without dairy, gluten, soy, or GMOs
Best Probiotics for Serotonin
Serotonin is responsible for the maintenance of mood, anxiety levels and and is interlinked with many more mental health conditions .
While serotonin is in charge of mood balance and is critical to improve mental health, probiotics, in this case, Bifidobacterium infantis maintain gut health. The connection between bacteria present in our digestive system and the neurotransmitter serotonin has not been directly stated but scientists have found that probiotics help boost serotonin levels and therefore improve mental health.
A type of bacteria called Lactobacillus plantarum strain PS128, for example, can help make your brain feel better. The bacteria may increase dopamine and serotonin.
A study found that Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota prevents stress-related cortisol increases and raises serotonin levels in stressed medical students. Stress is of course a main bi-product of many mental health conditions.
In rats, Lactobacillus helveticus NS8 was better than citalopram in reducing stress-induced anxiety, depression, and cognitive dysfunction. Lactobacillus helveticus NS8 also helped to lower cortisol and restore serotonin and other brain chemicals to normal levels and improve mental health symptoms.
So if you are looking for a probiotic to boost your levels of serotonin and improve mental health, you could try one of these for a boost:
1: Natural Stacks Serotonin Brain Food
- Serotonin Brain Food™ is designed to support the body's natural production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter essential to mental well-being.
- Supports a positive mood, promotes a sense of well-being, and relieves stress.
- This natural formula contains the precursors and co-factors required for healthy serotonin metabolism.
2. Pure Encapsulations – Serotonin Plus
- SeroPlus promotes enhanced serotonin production to support relaxation and moderate occasional stress.
- SeroPlus also helps promote a positive outlook, which helps maintain healthy eating behavior.
- Includes the synergistic cofactors magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin B6, Metafolin L-5 MTHF to support healthy serotonin production.
- All natural ingredients*
3. Lifted Naturals – Mood Boosting Probiotic
- Targeted “feel good” strains. It is a formula of the best bacterial strains to help people's mood.
- This probiotic has 30 billion CFU (colony-forming units) with the best strains for mood and digestion. It is high potency, giving digestive, immune, and mood support. This product comes with 60 capsules that last for two months!
- 9 strains of probiotics. We added some other ones too (7) that might help with digestion, immunity and moods.
- This means that this product does not need to be stored in the fridge. The products are safe to travel with too!
Probiotics cured my depression
till not convinced by my bold claims on how probiotics can help with mental health conditions?
Studies have shown that the gut microbiome is important for mood, feelings and appetite. It also plays a role in psychiatric and neurological disorders such as anxiety, depression, and autism.
Researchers at the Oxford University have found that probiotics affect anxiety and depression. They do this by changing the way people process emotional information.
For three weeks during the study, 45 women between 18 and 45 took either a prebiotic or a placebo. (A probiotic is a type of good bacteria that uses prebiotics to grow. Prebiotics are non digestible fibers that provide food for the good bacteria to grow. They are found in foods like onion, leek, garlic, Jerusalem Artichoke.)
The participants did a number of tests about words. They did some with positive words and others with negative words to measure how they processed emotional information.
The Findings
People who took the prebiotic paid less attention to negative information and more attention to positive information than those who took the placebo.
This effect is like what happens when you take antidepressants or anti-anxiety medication. It is not clear whether it actually reduces anxiety and depression or if instead, people simply perceive situations as less stressful or threatening.
The prebiotic group also had lower levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) compared to the placebo group. High cortisol levels, and other common mental health symptoms, have been linked with anxiety and depression.
Best Probiotic for Brain Health
So by now you may be wondering how the gut and brain are connected?
In the body, the brain and intestines are connected. If something changes in your gut, it can affect how you feel and aggravtate mental health symptoms It can also trigger inflammation and change neurotransmitter function, which is how your brain cells communicate.
The vagus nerve is a long, large nerve in the body. It connects to your brain and stomach and sends signals between these 2 areas.
The brain and intestines also talk to each other. They do this through a group of bugs called your gut microbes. These bugs send information to your brain and influence how you feel.
Estimates say that you have about 30 trillion cells in your body and about 40 trillion bacteria. This means that, when you add up the cells in your body, there are more bacteria than the human you.
Most of these bacteria live in your gut. That means they come into contact with the cells that line your intestines and everything that enters your body. That includes food, medicines, and microbes.
Many other bugs live with your gut bacteria. These are called the gut microbiota or the gut microbiome.
Different bacteria can make different substances that affect the brain. These include short-chain fatty acids, neurotransmitters, and amino acids. (11).
Gut bacteria can also influence the brain and central nervous system by controlling inflammation and hormone production. This can lead to mood and behavioral changes. You could then consider taking a daily probiotic supplement like one of these:
- Bio360 Probiotics | Cognitive Support Formula
- BRAIN HEALTH SUPPORT: This supplement helps support your brain health. It has nutrients that can help you have a healthy brain. It also has probiotics which are good for your stomach and brain health.
- GUT HEALTH SUPPORT: Probiotics are healthy for your gut. They help keep the digestive tract healthy and make you feel good. You can take them every day. The probiotics also come with vitamins B6, B12, B5, and Folic Acid to make you feel even better!
- COGNITIVE FUNCTION SUPPORT: B5, B6 and B12 are vitamins that help with memory and focus. Folic acid is a vitamin that helps the nervous system. Advanced brain power probiotics for men and women.
- MENTAL ENERGY SUPPORT: This company sells pills and other solutions to help you with your memory, clarity, focus or alertness. But it is smarter to get a whole body approach. We have a formula that will help your brain stay healthy that has 15 Billion CFU's and 8 probiotic strains in it.
2. Tru Niagen® 300mg nourishes your cells with a single, daily pill.
- Healthy Aging: As you get older, your NAD+ levels will go down. Tru Niagen helps your cells. It makes them work and stay healthy.
- Cellular Energy: Tru Niagen® makes your body's energy engines work better. It does this by helping the mitochondria. When the mitochondria work well, there is more energy for your body.
- Cellular Defense: Tru Niagen helps your cells to protect themselves from stresses. This includes when you overeat.
- Cellular Repair: Tru Niagen® repairs cells. It is good for you because it makes you feel better and stronger.
3. Qualia Mind Premium Nootropic
Qualia Mind is designed to:
- Enhance Memory & Cognition
- Support Executive Function
- Improve Mood & Motivation
- Fuel Focus & Concentration
- Enhance Creative Problem Solving
- Elevate Energy & Alertness
- Amplify Drive & Productivity
- Reduce Anxiety, Stress & Mental Fatigue
- Optimize Balance between Mind and Body
- Promote Healthy Brain Aging
- Promote Mental Clarity, Wakefulness and Alertness
- Enhance Memory and Capacity for Learning
Probiotics neurological effects
The human GI tract is full of trillions of microorganisms. These are called the gut microbiota. The gut microbiota is responsible for many important things in your body. The gut microbiota is important for the body to function properly. This means that any damage can cause problems in other parts of the body.
Probiotic supplements for mental health are living microorganisms that can help improve mental health symptoms. They can help repair your gut bacteria. A lot of investigations have shown that the gut bacteria can affect our brain and many things. This includes diseases where people have trouble with their brains and cognitive dysfunction.
Many studies have looked at how the bacteria in your stomach can affect your brain. They have found that having a healthy gut means you are more likely to think better. Some studies have found that there are times when you don't think so well, but these are usually when something is wrong with the bacteria in your stomach.
Best Probiotic for Memory Loss
A new study found that a daily probiotic supplement consisting of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus bacteria can make it easier to remember things. Probiotics such as the healthy bacteria that are in fermented foods like yogurt, cheese, soy products, and pickles.
A study published in Frontiers of Aging Neuroscience, which was one of the more avidly cited pro-probiotics studies, claimed that Probiotics can help improve your thinking and even protect you from getting Alzheimer's and redcuing the associated mental health symptoms
This study showed that elderly Alzheimer's patients who drank a milk product with Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Bifidobacterium bifidum and Lactobacillus fermentum for 12 weeks had improved cognition scores. On the other hand, elderly Alzheimer's patients that consumed the placebo continued to get worse.
Inflammatory markers fell 18% in the group that took probiotics. Inflammatory markers rose 45% in the group that didn't.
This study said that this Bifidobacterium breve strain might be helpful in people who have Alzheimer's. Daily oral administration of B. breve A1 reduced the cognitive dysfunction that normally happens when amyloid beta is given to mice.
8 of The Best Probiotics for Depression and Anxiety
1. Supersmart – Lactobacillus Rhamnosus
- Preliminary research suggests that we can use this type of bacteria to lower anxiety in humans. In one study, researchers gave lactobacillus rhamnosus to some mice. It appeared to help rescue the symptoms of anxiety in the subjects.
- When researchers removed part of the vagus nerve, they did not see a difference in anxiety. This indicates that psychobiotics can communicate with the brain.
2. Klaire Labs Ther-Biotic Factor 4
- A supplement for your gut bacteria. It is in a base of cellulose.
- This product has 10 billion colony-forming units of four different Bifidobacterium species.
- The proprietary InTactic® technology helps your body absorb the probiotics in your intestines.*
- This product is good for those who might be allergic to some things. It has no milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts.
3. Swanson L. Plantarum Probiotics
This medicine helps by making your brain make more dopamine and serotonin. That will make you feel less stressed. This can also help reduce inflammation. Researcher has concluded that lactobacillus plantarum has psychotropic properties without any of the usual physical side effects. It has the potential for treating neuropsychiatric disorders, including anxiety. Lactobacillus plantarum is also commonly found in sauerkraut, pickles, brined olives, and kimchi which are all fermented vegetables.
4. InnovixLabs Mood Probiotic
- Lactobacillus helveticus is a probiotic that can reduce the hormone cortisol and also has an anti-anxiety effect.
- A study showed that it can help reduce paranoia and obsessive-compulsive behaviours.
5. Swanson L. Reuteri Probiotic Plus
- Studies have shown that Lactobacillus reuteri can reduce anxiety behaviour in animals. Research suggests that a reduction in stress hormone levels may help to reduce anxiety symptoms.
- Other researchers found that the absence of lactobacillus reuteri causes social deficits in animals.
6. Lactobacillus casei – Align Probiotic Pro Formula
- People with chronic fatigue syndrome and digestive problems tried taking Lactobacillus casei as a supplement. They did it for two months.
- At the end of the study, they had a big change in their anxiety symptoms. If you have fatigue, digestive problems and anxiety then you could try this.
- Lactobacillus casei is the dominant species in naturally fermented Sicilian green olives. It can also be found in other fermented vegetables and dairy products.
7. Lactobacillus fermentum – NATURELO Probiotic Supplement
- Lactobacillus fermentum is a type of bacteria that lives inside people. It also lives in vegetables that have been fermented.
- The other lactobacillus probiotics have been studied a lot. But this one has not been studied as much.
8. Bifidobacterium breve – Hyperbiotics Pro-Bifido Probiotic
The amount of this bacteria in your gut reduces as you get older. Research has shown that bifidobacterium breve can reduce anxiety-like behaviour in animals. Anxious animals do better on cognitive tests after they get this. This makes bifidobacterium breve a good option for people with anxiety. This bacteria can also be found in fermented foods.
Best probiotics for energy
We have covered a lot so far. Aside from the obvious gut and brain benefits that probiotics have, they are also shown to help increase your energy levels. How? Well, I believe it is because of the gut-brain connection. It's not surprising that our mood and energy levels are linked to our microbial balance. We know that this comes into play when we want to lose weight or even just feel good.
That makes sense considering the gut produces about 95% of the serotonin found in your body. I have already covered the importance of probiotics and serotonin above. So which probiotics can help with raising energy levels?
1. FRISKA Energy Boost
- NOT YOUR AVERAGE ENERGY BOOST: This product helps you digest food better. It helps with energy, digestion, and probiotics. It is for men and women.
- POWERFUL PROBIOTICS: You can take digestive enzyme supplements to help you digest food better. This will make your stomach feel better and your energy levels go up.
- ENERGY WHEN YOU NEED IT: This product is an excellent way to get natural energy. It can help break down nature's three main sources of energy: carbohydrates, proteins,
- UTILIZES PURECAF ORGANIC CAFFEINE: When you take these enzymes, you will have more energy. They help your digestive system. FRISKA is a great product for this!
- THE CLEAN ALTERNATIVE: No need for processed coffee or sugar. Friska's blend is made from quality ingredients. There are no additives, GMO, or hormones.
2. ProbioSlim Weight Loss Essentials
- SUPPORT DIGESTIVE HEALTH: This formula contains LactoSpore, a good type of bacteria. Your gut can have a bad pH balance. Probiotics can help
- REDUCE DISCOMFORT: Gas, bloating, constipation, and diarrhea make you feel bad. Advanced probiotics help take away gas and other parts of your body
- BOOST ENERGY LEVELS: This formula is made with green tea extract and caffeine to help you feel more energy. It will make you want to do things more, like
- 11 ESSENTIAL NUTRIENTS: This vitamin is good for your stomach. It includes 11 important nutrients that you need to be healthy.
3. Natren Healthy Trinity Probiotics Supplement
- Natren Healthy Trinity Probiotic: This is a probiotic supplement that has 3 types of great bacteria. It provides 30 billion colony forming units
- Gastrointestinal Problem Cure: This supplement is good for your stomach. It helps you digest food and get rid of gas. It also helps with making vitamins. Our special
- Public Health Food And Drug Branch Manufacturing Certified: Natren is a company that makes probiotics. They make them in their factory in Los Angeles, California. This pharmaceutical-grade product facility uses a proprietary process that keeps the probiotics in good condition. This is a food product that was made with special permission from the state.
- Authentic, Genuine, And Passionate: The Natren family was the official probiotic supplier for King Peter II of Yugoslavia before World War II. Each Natren probiotic is infused with this healthy tradition and knowledge of beneficial bacteria. With this rich tradition also comes the ability to empower consumers./
Final Thoughts
Probiotics are a hot topic in the health and wellness world these days, but did you know that probiotic supplements can help with your mental health? From anxiety to depression, research has shown us how closely our gut bacteria is linked to our brains. That's why it's not surprising that many of the best probiotics for mental health are also good for physical wellbeing. Best of luck!
Before you go, you may also be interested in some of my other articles relating to all kinds of health matters. Be sure to check them out here.
