Psychobiotics? No, it’s not some weird psychedelic brand of yogurt, but a new and exciting field of bio-psychological research.
Chief of Psychology of the University of Calgary, Valerie Taylor, famously introduced what’s called fecal microbiota transplant, which is essentially inoculating someone with someone else’s gut bacteria (and yes, unfortunately these bacteria are in the form of poop).
This is because the evidence is mounting that you’re the trillions of bacteria in your gut microbiome have a profound effect on your total wellbeing.
These transplants were first tested on people diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but later participants included those with irritable bowel syndrome and depression. Dr. Taylor’s goal was to help those patients that received no relief from other more conventional treatments.
She argued that people with mental health disorders actually have noticeably different gut bacterial profiles. Could “installing” health gut bacteria help reverse these symptoms?
The studies are still underway, but there is enough promise to inspire a host of other research projects in the same area. Who would have guessed that the future of mental health treatment would involve so much poop?
