Why eating more miso, kimchi and other probiotic foods could ease anxiety and depression

Gut germs can cause depression and anxiety, scientists say, but fermented foods and probiotics supplements could help improve mental health

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Probiotics found in foods such as kimchi (above) are good for the gut and could relieve anxiety and depression. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 4:15pm, 19 Feb 2025Updated: 4:32pm, 19 Feb 2025

Germs in the gut can cause anxiety and other mental health troubles, according to Singapore-based scientists, whose findings suggest that probiotics could be a solution.

Tests on mice showed a “crucial connection between gut microbes and anxiety-related behaviour”, according to researchers from Duke-NUS Medical School and Singapore’s National Neuroscience Institute.

Published this month in the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine, the team’s findings suggest that molecules called indoles, which are produced by gut microbes and are involved in metabolism – the breakdown of food, drugs or chemicals to fuel the body – “play a direct role in regulating brain activity linked to anxiety”.

Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts that have beneficial health effects. Having more probiotic foods or supplements adds to the existing supply of friendly microbes in your body and may restore the natural balance of bacteria in your gut when it has been disrupted by illness or treatment.

Kefir is a fermented milk packed with powerful probiotics. Photo: Shutterstock

Probiotic foods include kefir, kombucha, sauerkraut, pickles, miso, tempeh, kimchi and sourdough bread.