Did you know that your gut could be affecting your mood? I have read that there are studies which show that "keeping the microflora in your gut healthy can reduce symptoms of stress." Since there are hundreds of billions of bacteria in our bodies that are good and bad, it makes sense that adding good bacteria by taking probiotics can help make us feel better. I have heard on many occasion that we should take probiotics while using antibiotics but it wasn't until I had seen a naturopath that I learned about adding probiotics to my daily diet. So of course, I jumped at the opportunity to try out Jamieson All Natural Probiotic Sticks.

A proprietary formulation sold in Canada exclusively as Probiotic Sticks by Jamieson Laboratories, this product uses two clinically tested bacteria, Lactobacillus Rosell-52 and Bifidobacterium Rosell-175, formulated by Institut Rosell-Lallemand. Through two placebo controlled, randomised clinical trials, it was discovered that Probiotic Sticks helped "alleviate gastrointestinal symptoms and psychological symptoms associated with stress and anxiety." I always thought eating yogurt was an easy way of replenishing the good bacteria but, according to Institut Rosell-Lallemand, the concentration of strains in a small amount may be insufficient in terms of the minimum CFU requirements. In addition, yogurt products are "not stable so the number of microbes at the time of manufacture will not reflect the number actually consumed." 

While you can sprinkle a stick of probiotics onto cool foods such as yogurt, pudding ice cream or into cool beverages such as juice or milk, I find the single-serving sachets of naturally flavoured red-plum crystals have a nice flavour and dissolve fairly well in the mouth. And I also like that the sachets need not be refrigerated, making it convenient to take them wherever you go. Did they help reduce the symptoms of stress? I'm not sure. But I did enjoy the convenience of the single-serving sachets.