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<\/p>\nThis relationship between the gut and the brain led researchers to explore the effects of prebiotics which act as food for the beneficial bacteria and microorganisms in our gut, called probiotics.<\/p>\n
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Fermented foods may be brain food.Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Promising as prebiotics and probiotics seemed to be in preclinical trials, fermented foods, such as yoghurt and fermented vegetables, contain a combination of these probiotic and prebiotic components.<\/p>\n
This, along with other compounds that are produced during the fermentation process, including neurotransmitters, meant experts theorised that fermented foods may be even better for psychological and cognitive functioning.<\/p>\n
In the new study, published in the journal, Gut, they randomly assigned 40 healthy women aged 18\u201355 years into one of two groups. For eight weeks, one group consumed 130 grams per day of a fermented probiotic yoghurt (containing bifidobacterium lactis (BB-12), of streptococcus thermophilus and lactobacillus bulgaricus), while the other had a dairy-based placebo.<\/p>\n
Using magnetic resonance spectroscopy, they measured the participants hippocampal metabolites at the beginning and end of the eight weeks.<\/p>\n
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They found differences in the gut\u2019s microbiome profile and glutathione levels in the hippocampus, an antioxidant which helps to protect the brain.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it seemed to have an impact on the size of the hippocampus and the degree of connectivity with the frontal lobe, which suggests that it might have benefits for mood, for memory, for learning, for appetite regulation,\u201d explains Jacka.<\/p>\n
Although the results did not remain statistically significant after multiple adjustments, the overall pattern they observed in the study were positive, says the study\u2019s lead author Dr Wolfgang Marx.<\/p>\n
\u201cTogether with the changes in hippocampal connectivity, it suggests that fermented probiotic foods may influence brain-related biology,\u201d he says. \u201cWe see this as a preliminary signal that needs to be tested in larger studies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Heidi Staudacher, an associate professor in nutrition and dietetics at Monash University, remains cautious about overstating the findings, but agrees that it lays the groundwork for the next steps of the research: to test the effects of fermented foods in people with depression.<\/p>\n
Many of the risk factors for mental disorders are not things that we can change, such as genetics and early life trauma. Diet, however, is a factor we can modify.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe evidence suggests that it\u2019s very important for mental health,\u201d says Jacka.<\/p>\n
She points out that in Australia, adolescents have on average seven serves of junk food a day, and less than 4 per cent eat enough vegetables, while only about 5 per cent of adults eat according to the dietary guidelines.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re all eating really badly,\u201d she says<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd so we\u2019re looking at different strategies for mitigating that terrible impact of the industrialised food system on our eating habits and hopefully mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n