By FMT’s Lifestyle Desk

There are plenty of ways to deal with stress: meditate and breathe deeply, doodle in an adult coloring book, smell a ripe orange. But have you tried eating a pickle? Fermented foods just might help you chill.

Several recent studies conducted in the US have found that eating fermented foods like pickles, sauerkraut, kimchi, tempeh and yogurt may lessen social anxiety.

Here’s why: By eating a pickle, you’re filling your digestive system with helpful bacteria (called probiotics) that prompt the brain to produce stress-fighting hormones (called cortisol). In fact, some scientists even posit that fermented foods are high in GABA, the same chemical messenger triggered by anxiety drugs.

In other words, munching on a gerkin might have the same effect as popping a Valium.

Don’t suffer from anxiety? Pickles have a handful of other health benefits, and make for an electrolyte-rich hangover cure and great post-workout recovery food. Some women even swear by their ability to alleviate period cramps.

So there you go – yet another group of plant-based foods that can keep us healthy and sane. It should also boost our happy brain chemicals to know that eating a plant-based diet is kinder to animals and the planet as a whole.

* First published in the world’s premier meat-free lifestyle platform, www.kindmeal.my