For young adults, eating fermented foods such as pickles and sauerkraut has been shown to reduce the number of symptoms associated with social anxiety, according to a recent study led by researchers from the College of William & Mary.
The study, which was accepted for publication by the journal Psychiatry Research back in April, is scheduled to be published in August.
As for what it is exactly that is contained within fermented foods that reduces social anxiety symptoms, W&M Psychology Professor Matthew Hilimire, one of the researchers behind the study, believes it’s “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,” Science Daily reported in a release.
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.
Researchers behind the study found that the relationship between fermented foods and reduced social anxiety to be strongest in those exhibiting high levels of neuroticism.
Having tested their initial hypothesis, the researchers plan on continuing the explore the mind-gut connection in a series of future studies which will, among other things, examine the possibility of a correlation between fermented food intake and autism symptoms, according to Hilimire.
In other health coverage here at Immortal News, an unrelated study found the consumption of potassium rich foods to have more positive effects on health than low-salt diets.
Next time you’re feeling anxious, are you going to eat a pickle and see if it calms your riled nerves?
