A new study claims that diet may actually have a big effect on emotions. Researchers from the College of William and Mary have found an association between a diet high in fermented foods and decrease in neuroticism and social anxiety. Fermented foods include sauerkraut, kimchi and yoghurt which contain probiotics.
Probiotics have been previously linked to many health benefits including its support to the immune system and neurological function. According to Dr. Matthew Hilimire of Willian & Mary University in the US a reported by Huffington Post Canada, "It is likely that the probiotics in the fermented foods are favorably changing the environment in the gut, and changes in the gut in turn influence social anxiety. I think that it is absolutely fascinating that the microorganisms in your gut can influence your mind."
The study, published in the journal of Psychiatry Research on its August 15 issue, was conducted by researchers based from the data gathered through questionnaires. They asked around 700 students about their consumption of fermented foods over the past month. Aside from that, they were also able to ask questions regarding their exercise frequency and consumption of fruits and vegetables.
Additionally, they also administered a mass test in the university's Introduction to Psychology class in the fall of semester of 2014. They also found out that regular exercise can also help reduce anxiety.
Dr. Hilimire added, "Not all of these foods necessarily had active cultures, but they have the potential to contain probiotics and bioactive peptides." They utilized the interaction model that controlled for demographics, general consumption of healthy foods and frequency of exercise. They found that exercise frequency, neuroticism, and fermented food consumption are significantly related to the reduction of social anxiety.
They did not explain in the study how probiotics have reduced social anxiety but they claim that previous studies have already established the link between the two, reports Medscape. Dr. Hilimire added, "For example, probiotics reduce the permeability of the gut, so harmful substances don't leak out. Probiotics also reduce inflammation of the gut. Because anxiety is often accompanied by gastrointestinal symptoms, reducing gut inflammation helps alleviate those symptoms."
They are now looking into the controversial mind-gut connection and how this can affect future endeavors in this field of research.