Can probiotics make life less stressful?
Probiotic supplements can be very effective at restoring the balance of beneficial bacteria in your gut. But can they make a difference to your psychological wellbeing too?
If aliens were to come to Earth and stripped us down to look inside, they would conclude that humans are mostly bacteria. Bacteria outnumber human cells by a factor of ten to one, and most live in our gut. The gut has developed an extraordinarily complex neural network capable of utilizing this bacterial ecosystem for both physical and psychological wellbeing.
Essential bugs
This gut microbiome is an essential part of our body. It helps us digest food, absorb nutrients, produce hormones, and help regulate our immune system. If we are not healthy, then our gut microbiome will suffer too. As a result, it affects our mood, energy levels and ability to concentrate.
The good news is that there are many ways to improve your gut health. Probiotic supplements can be very effective at restoring the balance of beneficial bacteria in your gut. But can they make a difference to your psychological wellbeing too?
This is a post especially for paid members of Noise Reduction. To receive more like this and to access the archive of Optimise post, please consider become a paid member. Thank you.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Notes to Selves by Sarb Johal to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.