A team member from the APC Microbiome Research Institute in Ireland published a paper in the latest issue of Molecular Psychiatry stating that people's diet may also be an effective way to cope with stress - their latest research shows that eating more fermented and fiber rich foods every day for just 4 weeks has a significant effect on reducing stress levels. In the past decade, an increasing number of studies have shown that diet can have a significant impact on people's mental health. In fact, a healthy diet can even reduce the risk of many common mental illnesses. In addition, previous studies have shown that stress and behavior are also related to people's microbiota, but so far, it is unclear whether changing diet (and microbiome) will have a significant impact on stress levels. In the latest study, scientists recruited 45 healthy volunteers aged 18-59 with relatively low dietary fiber content, more than half of whom were women. They were divided into two groups, one of which was assigned a diet designed by a nutritionist to increase their intake of prebiotics and fermented foods, known as "psychobiotics" because they can bring mental health to the consumers. Volunteers need to eat 6-8 portions of fruits and vegetables (such as onions, leeks, cabbage, apples, bananas and oats), 5-8 portions of cereals, 3-4 portions of beans every week, and 2-3 portions of fermented food (such as pickled Chinese cabbage, appetizers and black tea) every day. The control group only followed the general dietary recommendations based on the healthy eating pyramid. The study lasted for 4 weeks. The research results indicate that compared with the control group, participants who followed the "spiritual probiotics" diet felt less stress, and those who ate more "spiritual probiotics" had the greatest decrease in stress levels. The sleep quality of both groups has improved, but the "spiritual probiotics" group has a more significant improvement in sleep quality. The researchers explained that they found significant changes in the levels of certain key chemicals produced by gut microbiota, some of which are associated with mental health, which may explain why the "psychoactive probiotics" group felt less stressed. However, they also emphasized that although the latest research results indicate that specific diets can reduce stress levels, the sample size is small and the study duration is short. It is currently unclear how long the improvement effect will last, so long-term research is needed. (New Society)