Recent research from Virginia’s College of William and Mary and the University of Maryland shows that eating fermented food—such as yogurt, sauerkraut, pickles, and kimchi—markedly reduces social anxiety. The effect is especially pronounced in those whose nerves tip into neuroticism—that is, the chronically, fearfully, shy.
In other words, if you’ve got a case of social jimjams, eating a bowl of sauerkraut may be the equivalent of popping a Valium. Or maybe even better.
