Modern and traditional medicine both value the importance of adding fermented food to the diet.

The reason is because the microbes it contains can synthesise neurochemicals and can improve both the immune system and mental health, fermented food is a natural anti-depressant due to the incredible way it can restore gut health.

Traditionally fermented foods such as kefir, kimchee, yoghurt, and sauerkraut, are rich sources of neurochemical producing microbes and they taste amazing too.

Fermented foods contains live microorganisms of healthy bacteria with amazing health benefits and scientific studies support the fact that the bacteria in your gastrointestinal track can influence your brain activity.

The bacteria from fermented foods can synthesise vitamin K and important B vitamins and can detoxify heavy metal from the body.

Fermented foods have been shown to communicate with and regulate the immune system, they can reduce inflammation both from the gastrointestinal track and other parts of the body and there are many recent studies of the mood altering effects of good bacteria.

The probiotic longum b for example can reduced anxiety-like behaviours and it can also lower cholesterol.

Gut bacteria can also produce neurochemicals – molecules that play a role in brain activity, these neurochemicals influence how we think and feel and, while the brain requires these chemicals, the gut actually produces them which serves to illustrate the importance of a healthy gut.

Mental health cases throughout the nation and the whole world is a growing concern for the health sector and the public in general.

There is no discrimination when it comes to mental health anyone can be susceptible to depression and anxiety and the best way to fight anxiety and depression is to maintain a healthy gut environment.

According to the Mental Health Council of Australia, almost half of the total population (45.5%) experience a certain mental disorder at some point in their life, among young Australians aged 12 – 25 depression is the most common health problem. Currently there are around 1 million adult Australians experiencing depression and around 2 million suffering from anxiety.

Society often blames the environment, social structures and complex human circumstances as major factors of depression but often people are unaware that depression is also influenced by chemical and hormonal changes in the body.

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Have you ever tried adding fermented foods to your diet? Have you noticed a difference? Please share with us in the comments below.

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