This is a good article… although I don't think this is news. Gut bacteria have been linked to neurotransmitter balance for awhile now. But good info nonetheless.
www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/04/gut-bacteria-mental-healt_n_6391014.html"To test the efficacy of prebiotics in reducing anxiety, the researchers asked 45 healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 45 to take either a prebiotic or a placebo every day for three weeks. After the three weeks had passed, the researchers completed several computer tests assessing how they processed emotional information, such as positive and negatively-charged words.
The results of one of the tests revealed that subjects who had taken the prebiotic paid less attention to negative information and more attention to positive information, compared to the placebo group, suggesting that the prebiotic group had less anxiety when confronted with negative stimuli. This effect is similar to that which has been observed among individuals who have taken antidepressants or anti-anxiety medication.
The researchers also found that the subjects who took the prebiotics had lower levels of cortisol -- a stress hormone which has been linked with anxiety and depression -- in their saliva when they woke up in the morning."
-p