New scientific research has concluded the foods that reduce stress!
Nutrition is directly related
Many times, the advice suggested to reduce stress is physical exercise , engaging in an activity that pleases us, or even meditation . Of course, these ways can be effective, however a new research comes to show that after all, food can work effectively as an “anti-stressor”.
More specifically, a new scientific study from University College Cork, Ireland, has shown that eating certain foods daily for just four weeks can lead to a significant reduction in a person’s perceived stress levels.
Specifically, the team wanted to find out how much diet can affect a person’s mental health. In particular, it is believed that the microbiome, i.e. the trillions of bacteria that live in the human gastrointestinal system, has a direct relationship with psychology, even influencing stress levels.
The experiment
To test their theory, the scientific team recruited 45 healthy people aged 18 to 59 on a relatively low-fiber diet. Participants were split into two groups and randomly assigned a diet to follow for four weeks.
More specifically, half were given a diet designed by nutritionist Kirsten Berding, which included a higher amount of prebiotics and fermented foods . This is the so-called “psychobiotic” diet that includes several foods that have been linked to better mental health.
The goal for this group was to include in their daily diet 6-8 servings of fruits and vegetables with a high prebiotic fiber content (such as onions, leeks, cabbages, apples, bananas and oats) , 5-8 servings of cereals a day and 3 – 4 portions of legumes per week . At the same time, they had to include 2-3 servings of fermented foods daily (such as sauerkraut, kefir and kombucha ) .
On the other hand, participants in the other control group only received some general nutritional advice, based on the healthy food pyramid.
Results
After four weeks, then, those who followed the ‘psychobiotic’ diet reported feeling less stressed compared to the other group who did not follow any particular diet.
In fact, a direct correlation was also observed between how strictly the participants followed the diet and their perceived level of stress. Finally, the research team also recorded an improvement in sleep quality.
The conclusion; We should probably take more care of the microorganisms that live in our gastrointestinal tract!
The research was published Oct. 27 in Nature’s scientific journal Molecular Psychiatry. Its official title is ‘Feed your microbes to deal with stress: a psychobiotic diet impacts microbial stability and perceived stress in a healthy adult population’ and you can find it by clicking here.
