---
title: Could Your Gut Bacteria Be Making You Anxious or Depressed?
date: 2015-01-15T21:01:36Z
modified: 2015-01-15T21:01:36Z
permalink: "https://elizabethyarnell.com/could-your-gut-bacteria-be-making-you-anxious-or-depressed/"
type: post
status: publish
excerpt: ""
wpid: 4345
categories:
  - Nutrition in the News
tags:
  - anxiety
  - depression
  - microbiome
  - prebiotics
  - probiotics
featured_image: "https://elizabethyarnell.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Gut_xray.jpg"
author: Elizabeth
---

New research from neurobiologists at Oxford University shows there could be a[ link between the health of your gut microbiome and your emotions](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/04/gut-bacteria-mental-healt_n_6391014.html "Gut Bacteria Linked to Anxiety"). The study suggests that using probiotics to populate your gut with good bacteria together with eating enough prebiotics –carbs that nourish your bacterial population– can help lift your mental state.

[![Gut xray](http://elizabethyarnell.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Gut_xray-300x300.jpg)

](http://elizabethyarnell.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Gut_xray.jpg)

# Foods high in probiotics

Foods high in probiotics include yogurt, keffir, kim chee, sourkrout, and other fermented foods.

# Foods high in prebiotics

[Foods high in prebiotics](http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/examples-prebiotic-foods-1516.html "foods containing prebiotics") include asparagus, onions, leeks, grains, legumes, and cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli, kale, kohlrabi, radish, and rutabega.

It seems the [bacteria inside us](http://elizabethyarnell.com/effortlesseating/2015/01/could-bacteria-play-a-role-in-colon-cancer-or-polyps/ "bacteria and colon cancer") might affect us more than we ever could have imagined.

Yet another checkmark against the” Paleo”-style diet as being the ultimate diet for humans.

My motto: Be wary of fad diets that advocate elimination or extreme reduction of an entire food group.