Exploring Indian Heritage: The Gut-Friendly Benefits Of Curd For Stress Resilience In College Students
Keywords:
Gut–brain axis, Curd, Probiotics, Stress resilience, Mental well-being, Gastrointestinal health, College students, Psychobiotics, Fermented foodsAbstract
Background: The gut–brain axis mediates bidirectional communication between the gastrointestinal tract and the central nervous system, influencing stress responses, emotional well-being, and gut health. Chronic stress, particularly among college students, can disrupt this axis, leading to adverse psychological and gastrointestinal outcomes. Probiotics have gained attention as psychobiotics capable of modulating stress and mental health. Curd, a traditional fermented dairy product commonly consumed in India, is a natural and affordable source of probiotics; however, its role in stress modulation remains inadequately explored.
Objectives: To assess the effect of daily curd consumption on stress levels, mental well-being, gastrointestinal health, and academic performance among college students.
Methods: A randomized controlled study was conducted among 100 undergraduate students aged 18–30 years. Participants were allocated into a case group (n = 50), who consumed 200 g of homemade curd daily containing Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum (10⁶ CFU/mL) for 8 weeks, and a control group (n = 50) with no curd intake. Stress levels, mental well-being, gastrointestinal health, and academic performance were evaluated at baseline and post-intervention using validated questionnaires: Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10), Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS), Digestive Health Questionnaire (DHQ), and Academic Performance Scale (APS). Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS, with p < 0.05 considered statistically significant.
Results: The curd-consuming group demonstrated a significant reduction in stress levels, with severe stress decreasing from 20% to 2.5% (p < 0.001). Mental well-being scores improved significantly (p = 0.003), while gastrointestinal health showed notable improvement, with good health scores increasing from 65% to 87.5% (p = 0.039). Academic performance showed modest but significant improvement (p = 0.039). No significant changes were observed in the control group.
Conclusion:Regular consumption of curd significantly reduces stress and improves mental well-being and gastrointestinal health among college students, supporting its potential role as a simple, culturally acceptable, psychobiotic dietary intervention. ..
Downloads
References
Margolis KG, Cryan JF, Mayer EA. The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis: From Motility to Mood. Gastroenterology. 2021 Apr;160(5):1486-1501. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2020.10.066. Epub 2021 Jan 22. PMID: 33493503; PMCID: PMC8634751.
2. Sivamaruthi, Bhagavathi & Mani Iyer, Prasanth & Kesika, Periyanaina & Chaiyasut, Chaiyavat. (2019). Probiotics in human mental health and diseases-A mini- review. Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research. 18. 889-895. 10.4314/tjpr.v18i4.29.
3. Chen P, Zhang L, Feng Y, Liu YF, Si TL, Su Z, Cheung T, Ungvari GS, Ng CH, Xiang YT. Brain-gut axis and psychiatric disorders: A perspective from bibliometric and visual analysis. Front Immunol. 2022 Nov 16;13:1047007. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1047007. PMID: 36466907; PMCID: PMC9709456.
4. WHO. Stress. Website and factsheet by WHO: https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/stress, https://applications.emro.who.int/docs/WHOEMMNH236E-eng.pdf?ua=1
5. CDC. Coping up with Stress. https://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/cope-with-stress/index.html
6. Shrivastava U, Thakur A, Singh TP, Dhakar JS, Jain S, Agrawal A, Pachori H, Thakur S. Comparative Analysis of Stress Levels Among Undergraduate Students at St. John's College, Agra. Cureus. 2024 Aug 22;16(8):e67452. doi: 10.7759/cureus.67452. PMID: 39310539; PMCID: PMC11416187.
7. Mallaram GK, Gopalakrishnan U, Mathews DA, Mudamala DS, Gangavarappagari H, Modi U, Kattula D. Stress, Anxiety, and Depression in the First-year Students of Medical Education: A Prospective Cohort Study from a Women's Medical College in South India. Indian J Psychol Med. 2024 Nov 19:02537176241282100. doi: 10.1177/02537176241282100. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39568984; PMCID: PMC11574819.
8. Grakh K, Panwar D, Jadhav VJ, Khurana R, Yadav D, Bangar YC, Singh L, Chahal N, Kumar K. Identification and assessment of stress and associated stressors among veterinary students in India using a cross-sectional questionnaire survey. Front Public Health. 2022 Nov 21;10:1059610. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.1059610. PMID: 36478724; PMCID: PMC9720151.
9. Kelly JR, Kennedy PJ, Cryan JF, Dinan TG, Clarke G, Hyland NP. Breaking down the barriers: the gut microbiome, intestinal permeability and stress-related psychiatric disorders. Front Cell Neurosci. 2015 Oct 14;9:392. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2015.00392. PMID: 26528128; PMCID: PMC4604320.
10. Forsythe P, Kunze WA. Voices from within: gut microbes and the CNS. Cell Mol Life Sci. 2013 Jan;70(1):55-69. doi: 10.1007/s00018-012-1028-z. Epub 2012 May 27. PMID: 22638926; PMCID: PMC11113561.
11. Sneijder P, Frank J. The foundations of ancient medicine: The philosophical contributions of Hippocrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Hist Med J. 2019;15(3):45–52
12. Inchekar, Archana & Tiwari, Mrunal A & Inchekar, Dhananjay. (2023). Therapeutic use of Curd in Digestive Disorders in Ayurveda. AYUSHDHARA. 230-233. 10.47070/ayushdhara. v10i5.1376.
13. Anindita Mukherjee, Atreyi Ghosh. Effect of Home-made curd on Quality of Life of patients with mixed anxiety and depression. Afr.J.Bio.Sc. 6(9) (2024). doi:10.33472/AFJBS.6.9.2024.3182-3189. ISSN: 2663-2187
14. Márquez-Morales L, El-Kassis EG, Cavazos-Arroyo J, Rocha-Rocha V, Martínez- Gutiérrez F, Pérez-Armendáriz B. Effect of the Intake of a Traditional Mexican Beverage Fermented with Lactic Acid Bacteria on Academic Stress in Medical Students. Nutrients. 2021 May 5;13(5):1551. doi: 10.3390/nu13051551. PMID: 34062976; PMCID: PMC8147924.
15. Kato-Kataoka A, Nishida K, Takada M, Suda K, Kawai M, Shimizu K, Kushiro A, Hoshi R, Watanabe O, Igarashi T, Miyazaki K, Kuwano Y, Rokutan K. Fermented milk containing Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota prevents the onset of physical symptoms in medical students under academic examination stress. Benef Microbes. 2016;7(2):153-6. doi: 10.3920/BM2015.0100. Epub 2015 Dec 21. PMID: 26689231.
16. Ansari F, Pourjafar H, Tabrizi A, Homayouni A. The Effects of Probiotics and Prebiotics on Mental Disorders: A Review on Depression, Anxiety, Alzheimer, and Autism Spectrum Disorders. Curr Pharm Biotechnol. 2020;21(7):555-565. doi: 10.2174/1389201021666200107113812. PMID: 31914909.
17. Hill C, Guarner F, Reid G, Gibson GR, Merenstein DJ, Pot B, et al. The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics consensus statement on the scope and appropriate use of the term probiotic. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 2014;11:506-14. [PubMed abstract]
18. Pandey MM, Rastogi S, Rawat AK. Indian traditional ayurvedic system of medicine and nutritional supplementation. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013;2013:376327. doi: 10.1155/2013/376327. Epub 2013 Jun 23. PMID: 23864888; PMCID: PMC3705899.
19. Madison A, Kiecolt-Glaser JK. Stress, depression, diet, and the gut microbiota: human- bacteria interactions at the core of psychoneuroimmunology and nutrition. Curr Opin Behav Sci. 2019 Aug;28:105-110. doi: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2019.01.011. Epub 2019 Mar
25. PMID: 32395568; PMCID: PMC7213601.
20. Lu Ma; Yating Yan; Richard James Webb; Ying Li; Sanaz Mehrabani; Bao Xin; Xiaomin Sun; Youfa Wang; Mohsen Mazidi. Psychological Stress and Gut Microbiota Composition: A Systematic Review of Human Studies. Neuropsychobiology 2023;82:247–262 DOI: 10.1159/000533131. PMID: PubMed: 37673059.
21. Dziedzic A, Maciak K, Bliźniewska-Kowalska K, Gałecka M, Kobierecka W, Saluk J. The Power of Psychobiotics in Depression: A Modern Approach through the Microbiota- Gut-Brain Axis: A Literature Review. Nutrients. 2024 Apr 4;16(7):1054. doi: 10.3390/nu16071054. PMID: 38613087; PMCID: PMC11013390.
22. Sanmith, T. D.1,2; Chourasiya, Jitendra3,4; Patel, Nishant2,5. Comparing the Efficacy of Probiotic Nutraceuticals and Probiotic Food (Curd) in Combination with Antidepressants for Depression. Archives of Medicine and Health Sciences 12(2):p 176-180, May–Aug 2024. | DOI: 10.4103/amhs.amhs_246_23
23. Cocean AM, Vodnar DC. Exploring the gut-brain Axis: Potential therapeutic impact of Psychobiotics on mental health. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2024 Aug 30;134:111073. doi: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2024.111073. Epub 2024 Jun 22. PMID: 38914414.
24. Marcos A, Wärnberg J, Nova E, Gómez S, Alvarez A, Alvarez R, Mateos JA, Cobo JM. The effect of milk fermented by yogurt cultures plus Lactobacillus casei DN-114001 on the immune response of subjects under academic examination stress. Eur J Nutr. 2004 Dec;43(6):381-9. doi: 10.1007/s00394-004-0517-8. Epub 2004 Jul 14. PMID: 15309418.
25. Mathur H, Beresford TP, Cotter PD. Health Benefits of Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) Fermentates. Nutrients. 2020 Jun 4;12(6):1679. doi: 10.3390/nu12061679. PMID: 32512787; PMCID: PMC7352953.
26. McKerrow I, Carney PA, Caretta-Weyer H, Furnari M, Miller Juve A. Trends in medical students' stress, physical, and emotional health throughout training. Med Educ Online. 2020 Dec;25(1):1709278. doi: 10.1080/10872981.2019.1709278. PMID: 31902315; PMCID: PMC6968533.
27. Hadjimbei E, Botsaris G, Chrysostomou S. Beneficial Effects of Yoghurts and Probiotic Fermented Milks and Their Functional Food Potential. Foods. 2022 Sep 3;11(17):2691. doi: 10.3390/foods11172691. PMID: 36076876; PMCID: PMC9455928..
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
Terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
