• Happy Food - part 5

Happy Food Part 5: Probiotics

This is the final part of the Happy Food series. I will keep it minimal, minute…
Because, as well as fermented products (part 4) you can probably make your gut happy with something minute like bacteria. We are talking here about probiotics, or supplements of good living bacteria.

Probiotics come in all sorts of forms nowadays, from drinks to freeze dried powders. There are various studies which demonstrate that probiotics can help improve your gut barrier. Other studies show that probiotics can reduce skin conditions such as acne and eczema. But listen to this: it is possible that these good bacteria can help with our mood as well. Nice right?

Probiotics for depression

A major study, in which various studies were combined, has found that probiotics can reduce symptoms of depression. I would just like to add that this effect was mainly noticeable in people with severe depression, but not in healthy people without any sort of complaint. Unfortunately, I cannot give specific advice yet on which bacterial strains are best to take.
But what are my personal thoughts? Are you suffering from a skin complaint and/or feeling gloomy? Then you could try taking a probiotic for a while. And will you let me know how it goes? I am going to carry out further research on this matter together with medical students from Erasmus. I should be able to tell you more about this in the spring. I’ll keep you updated!

Related articles

Happy Food Part 3: Fish, fish and once again fish….
Probiotics in Skincare
Happy Food Part 4: Fibre and fermented food