How do probiotics help your brain health?

Probiotics can do more than only improve your digestion. They may help enhance the mood and cognitive functions of your brain. Recent medicine discovered that the brain and gut connect through the vagus nerve and constantly communicate through the gut-brain axis through biochemical signaling.

The gut, also named the second brain, produces many of the same neurotransmitters that the brain does as serotonin, dopamine, and gamma-aminobutyric acid. It produces up to 90% of the whole serotonin made in our body!

What affects the gut often affects the brain and vice versa. When under stress, your brain sends warning signals causing digestive problems and an upset stomach. Flares of gastrointestinal issues like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Crohn’s disease, or chronic constipation may trigger anxiety or depression. We suggest avoiding meals when you are experiencing stress that may trigger digestive problems.

An overgrowth of pathogen bacteria in the gut, not balanced by a good source of probiotics, may be detrimental to our health. It will induce inflammation in our digestive tract, move to the brain through the gut-brain axis and damage our mental health. Alzheimer’s, dementia, Huntington’s, & Parkinson’s are neurodegenerative diseases of our brain highly influenced by our gut health.

Modern medicine suggests that a regular intake of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria may enhance brain health. It would regulate hormones that control mood and mental functions, lowering brain inflammation as a possible cause of mental health problems.