Bread & Mental Wellbeing: Sourdough and Anxiety
Understanding the relationship between sourdough and anxiety is a cornerstone of our Proven Bread programme. This research collection explores the vagus nerve and the gut-brain axis, fermentation and whole grains may help emotional resilience by supporting gut microbes and increasing GABA receptor activity in the brain.
This field is of significant personal interest to Dr. Vanessa Kimbell, who integrates bread-making techniques as a meditative practice within the BALM framework. Her doctoral research informs our practical application, showing how probiotic-rich sourdough and bioactive compounds can influence depressive and anxiety-like variables. These studies demonstrate how ingredient choice and slow fermentation can positively affect symptoms in those under stress.
As noted by Harvard Health, the relationship between our "second brain" in the gut and our emotional state are linked together. We invite you to join our workshops or the Diploma in Nutrition and Digestibility of Bread to transform your baking into a powerful tool for wellbeing.
