Canadian News Network Reports That Probiotics May Ease Some Symptoms Of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

A CTV News story about a Canadian Research Study reported that the intake of a probiotic supplement every day has been seen to alleviate symptoms of anxiety in study subjects who suffer from C.F.S. These findings came out of a U of T research team headed by A. Venket Rao, based on a two month long study that revealed a big decrease in the subject's signs of anxiety.

First of all, for those who are not usually aware of natural health supplements, What is a probiotic? Very simply it is a natural health product that contains live bacteria - like Lactobacillus or Bifidobacteria. R-Gardens Salivarius is such a product that will help to sustain the beneficial bacteria that are found in everyone. This bacteria in the digestive tract , enhances the immune system and crowds out damaging bacteria.


But one thing the University team were most excited to uncover was that, this 2 month run of daily probiotics supplement also created positive results in affecting disorders such as depression & anxiety. Unlike traditional medications, which can bring about many undesirable side effects, probiotics offer an easy and safe way to manage these issues. They have published their findings in the journal BioMed Central.

Their research was conducted on people suffering from C.F.S. which exhibits other signs including persistent fatigue and for a large group - sleep problems, depression and anxiety.

Likely what directed them to look at probiotics originally was that subjects with CFS are also often affected with digestive problems frequently connected with the decreased presence of good bacteria in the body. Natural health users have taken probiotics for this purpose for a long time. Because the desirable bacteria present in the probiotic supplements is able to help the body crowd out the bad bacteria in the gut and this bad bacteria has already been linked to an increase in depression and other mood problems, the researchers believe that bacteria levels may influence our behavior.

The group given probiotics each day showed increased levels of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria and this correlated with a significant decline in anxiety feelings in the group. They also showed digestive improvements such as a decline in bloating, gas and inflammation.

"The findings are huge," said study co-author Alison C. Bested, who went on to say that the study subjects felt calmer and were better able to deal with their illness, slept better and exhibited fewer symptoms of anxiety.