{"id":1615,"date":"2026-11-11T15:54:34","date_gmt":"2026-11-11T20:54:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/foodstudies\/?p=1615"},"modified":"2026-11-11T15:54:34","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T20:54:34","slug":"the-gut-brain-connection-and-fermentation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/foodstudies\/2026\/11\/11\/the-gut-brain-connection-and-fermentation\/","title":{"rendered":"The Gut-Brain Connection and Fermentation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fermentation – Introduction\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have been exposed to the importance of fermented foods for our gut and bodies since a young age. My father\u2019s family is Pennsylvania Dutch and love their sauerkraut, my mother and her Romanian family have exposed me to Romanian methods of fermentation agents such as <\/span>bors <\/span><\/i>for soup, and my Cantonese aunt has had me try soybean paste on many occasions. However, I was only ever told the simple answer when I asked about why we eat these foods: \u201cthey\u2019re good for you.\u201d Thanks to this class on fermentation in Food Studies, I have been exposed to exactly why fermented foods are good for us and our whole bodies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Similar to pickling, fermentation started as a way to preserve certain foods with limited shelf life such as vegetables and meat. Through introducing food to microorganisms (commensal organisms), either spontaneously occurring or engineered, metabolites such as lactic acid are produced which ferments the food and creates a new taste and texture (Stanford). Fermented foods are good for us physiologically due to its effects on reducing inflammation in the gut, providing antioxidants, and reducing the risk of IBS (Stanford Medicine). But, did you know that fermentation helps the brain – through the gut?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Kefir<\/em>. Cultured Food Life (No Date). How To Make Water Kefir. CulturedFoodLife. https:\/\/www.culturedfoodlife.com\/how-to-make-water-kefir\/<\/p>\n

The Gut-Brain Connection<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not only does fermentation help us physiologically, but it also helps us mentally. Our gut is often described as our second brain, or the <\/span>enteric nervous system<\/span><\/i> (ENS) (Johns Hopkins Medicine). As we learned in our lecture earlier this month, 95% of serotonin is produced in the gut (Halpin 2026). But that is not all: the ENS controls your digestion and helps you swallow your food. More importantly, irritation in your gastrointestinal system can trigger your ENS to send a signal to the central nervous system (CNS), perhaps worsening irritability and depression – which would explain why people living with IBS also experience higher rates of depression and other mental health disorders (Johns Hopkins Medicine). <\/span>Additionally, a weakened ENS system and a higher sense of anxiety can lead to worsened inflammation, which has shown links to a heightened risk of Alzheimer\u2019s Disease and other neurodegenerative disorders (Robertson 2025).<\/span><\/p>\n

Furthermore, as Dr. Susan Albers from Cleveland Clinic has mentioned, \u201c\u2018Eating fermented foods is a powerful tool for nurturing your mental health by changing your microbiome\u2019\u201d (Cleveland Clinic 2024). Thanks to the commensal microorganisms that produce the metabolites responsible for fermentation, eating these foods will release those beneficial bacteria into our gastrointestinal system. Although the research is limited as to exactly how, these beneficial bacteria can create an ideal environment for nurturing the neurotransmitters of the ENS, boosting our moods. Additionally, this creates a link between why people who have a diet high in ultra processed foods have higher rates of and worse symptoms of depression, anxiety, and general irritability (Cleveland Clinic 2024).<\/span><\/p>\n

We should all eat more fermented foods if we want to boost our moods and better understand the critical role the ENS plays in regulating and promoting our mental health. Yogurt, kefir, and sauerkraut\u2013along with the bean paste that I mentioned earlier and my personal favorite, kimchi\u2013are all foods that we can incorporate into our diets to become healthier, happier, and more balanced.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Kimchi. Han, Emily (2026). How To Make Easy Kimchi. The Kitchn.<\/em> https:\/\/www.thekitchn.com\/how-to-make-easy-kimchi-at-home-189390<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Questions for Discussion:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Have you noticed a change in your mood after eating fermented foods?<\/span><\/p>\n

When you do not eat, do you get agitated or angry?<\/span><\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Reference List:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cleveland Clinic (2024). Benefits of Fermented Food for your Mental Health. Cleveland Clinic NewsRoom.<\/em> https:\/\/newsroom.clevelandclinic.org\/2024\/03\/15\/benefits-of-fermented-food-for-your-mental-health<\/p>\n

Johns Hopkins Medicine (No Date). The Brain-Gut Connection. Johns Hopkins Medicine Health.<\/em> https:\/\/www.hopkinsmedicine.org\/health\/wellness-and-prevention\/the-brain-gut-connection<\/p>\n

Robertson, Ruairi (2025). The Gut-Brain Connection: How it Works and The Role of Nutrition. Healthline<\/em>. https:\/\/www.healthline.com\/nutrition\/gut-brain-connection<\/p>\n

Stanford Medicine (No Date). The Science of Fermented Foods. Stanford Medicine Education.<\/em> https:\/\/med.stanford.edu\/nutrition\/education\/Resources\/Fermenting-the-Facts\/the-science-of-fermented-foods.html<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fermentation – Introduction\u00a0 I have been exposed to the importance of fermented foods for our gut and bodies since a young age. My father\u2019s family is Pennsylvania Dutch and love their sauerkraut, my mother and her Romanian family have exposed me to Romanian methods of fermentation agents such as bors for soup, and my Cantonese […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5885,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[136307],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-food-studies-fall-2026","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/foodstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/foodstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/foodstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/foodstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5885"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/foodstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1615"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/foodstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1620,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/foodstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1615\/revisions\/1620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/foodstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/foodstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/foodstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}