Food for Thought

Probiotics a Potential Treatment for Mental Illness 

Several preclinical studies showed a link between specific probiotics and beneficial behavioral effects. These included one in which rats with depressive behaviors resulting from maternal separation displayed normalized behavior and an improved immune response after ingesting the Bifidobacterium infantis probiotic.
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The investigators note that although human studies are still largely lacking, they did find some with promising results on behavior, including 1 showing that healthy volunteers who received Lactobacillus helveticus R0052 plus B longum for 30 days reported significantly lower stress levels than those who received placebo, as well as significantly reduced urinary free cortisol levels.
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In 1 of the preclinical studies examined, mice that ingested L rhamnosus showed reduced anxiety scores and "altered central expression" on both the GABA type A and type B receptors.   And a study of human patients with chronic fatigue syndrome showed that those who consumed an active strain of L casei 3 times a day had significantly higher improvement scores on anxiety measures than did those who received matching placebo.