Research on 66 patients with bipolar disorder found that patients receiving probiotic supplements were three times less likely to be rehospitalized than those given a placebo. The study from the Sheppard Pratt Health System, in Baltimore, gave half of discharged patients a placebo and the other half a capsule containing two probiotics, Bifidobacterium lactis (BB-12) and Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG). Within 26 weeks, 24 of the 33 people that received the placebo returned to the hospital, but only eight of the 33 on probiotics were readmitted. The probiotic treatment was especially effective for those experiencing considerable inflammation, say researchers.

This article appears in the April 2019 issue of Natural Awakenings.