Members of the team of the Irish APC Microbiome Research Institute published a paper in the latest issue of Molecular Psychiatry, saying that people's diet may also be an effective way to cope with stress - their latest research shows that eating more fermented food and food rich in cellulose every day in just four weeks has a significant effect on reducing stress levels. Over the past decade, more and more studies have shown that diet can have a huge impact on people's mental health. In fact, a healthy diet can even reduce the risk of many common mental diseases. 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 microbiota) 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 group was assigned a diet designed by a nutritionist to increase their intake of prebiotics and fermented foods, which are called "Psychoprobiotics" because they can bring mental health to the consumers. Volunteers need to eat 6-8 portions of fruits and vegetables rich in prebiotic fiber (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 foods (such as pickles, appetizers and black tea) every day. The control group only followed the general diet recommendations based on the healthy diet pyramid. The study lasted 4 weeks. The results showed that, compared with the control group, the participants who followed the "psychoprobiotics" diet felt less stress, and the participants who ate more "psychoprobiotics" had the largest reduction in stress levels. The sleep quality of the two groups was improved, but the sleep quality of the "psychoprobiotics" group was improved more significantly. The researchers explained that they found that the level of some key chemicals produced by intestinal microorganisms had changed significantly, some of which were related to mental health, which might explain why the "psychoprobiotics" group felt less stressed. However, they also emphasized that although the latest research results showed that specific diet could reduce the stress level, the sample size was small and the research duration was short. It was unclear how long the improvement effect would last, so long-term research was needed. (Outlook New Times)