You are what you eat. This saying is definitely true, especially because the food that you eat has a direct impact on your health and well-being. And not just physical health, your eating habits affect your mental health too. A new study has found that people who undergo stress and anxiety should increase their consumption of wholegrains, cereals, oats, pulses and vegetables. All these foods are high fibrous foods - which have been found to be effective in reducingstress, according to a study. Experts believe that stress can result in major changes in the gut and in the brain. This, in turn results in change in behavior.
IANS reports that findings of the study suggest that gut bacteria produce short-chain fatty acids. These short-chain fatty acids are the main source of nutrition for cells in gut. High level of fibre can stimulate production of small-chain fatty acids.
There is a growing recognition about the role of gut bacteria and chemicals which influence gut flora. The role that short-chain fatty acids play has not been understood properly so far.
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The study, which was published The Journal of Physiology, was done on mice. The mice were subjected to stress and were then assessed for their anxiety, stress responsiveness, sociability and cognition. It was also seen how easily the material passes through the gut.
Source - NDTV