Mental health and curd

Our mental health is not only a function of the brain; our gut microbiome has a major role to play here. 'The prospect of harnessing beneficial microbes for mental well-being may soon transition from theory to reality, offering new hope for those affected by anxiety disorders,' says a Nature magazine report, on the close connect between microbes, nutrition and brain health. One of the foods that creates this symphony that calms the troubled mind is probiotics. This brings to mind the popular two liners that crop up on social media. One says, 'Stay Calm, Eat Thayir Saadam' - Stay Calm, Eat Curd Rice. More correctly, the slogan should be flipped to say, Eat Thayir Saadam, Stay Calm - to get the cause and effect right.

The ancient Chinese declared, 'You are what you eat', and 'Food is medicine'. With theoretical and practical knowledge handed down through generations, we still tend to ignore good eating habits and what modern day nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar keeps chanting: eat traditional, regional and seasonal. Nothing complicated or expensive like imported fruit and grains. A typical meal in a home in, say, Tamil Nadu always concludes with curd rice. A nursery rhyme too talked of Little Miss Muffet who sat on her tuffet eating curds and whey. Genesis mentions that Abraham offered curds and whey to guests who were divine messengers. Krishn, as a child, would routinely binge on curd and other dairy products with his friends. Curd is also offered to Saraswati, goddess of learning, perhaps because it is brain food.