From fork to feelings: How foods shape mental health via the microbiota-gut-brain axis
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Date
2026-02-02
Authors
Ferri, Aimone
Trindade Paes, Laise
Schneider, Elizabeth
Clarke, Gerard
Cryan, John F.
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Abstract
The microbiota-gut-brain axis, defined as the bidirectional communication linking the gut microbiota with the brain, operates through neural, metabolic, immune, and endocrine signals. It plays an important role in mental health, regulating stress response, mood, and cognitive function, and is altered in psychiatric conditions. Although the gut microbiota remains stable during healthy adulthood, it is modifiable by lifestyle, medication, and diet, making it a tractable target for mental health interventions. Diet is emerging as a viable option to improve mental health through gut microbiota modulation. Energy-dense, high-fat, and high-sugar diets have been linked to poor mental health, whereas Mediterranean, fiber-rich, and fermented-food diets show benefits, possibly through provision of specific nutrients and beneficial microbial metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids. However, more human research addressing variability and confounding is needed to unlock these mechanisms and support personalized/precision nutrition. This review discusses current evidence and proposes multidisciplinary, rigorous diet-microbiota-mental health research.
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©2026, the author(s). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Keywords
Brain , Diet , Fermented food , Gastrointestinal Microbiome , Humans , Mental health , Microbiota–gut–brain axis , Nutritional psychiatry , Psychobiotic , [APCMicrobiome] , [AppliedPsychology] , [Medicine]
Citation
Ferri, A, Trindade Paes, L, Schneider, E, Clarke, G & Cryan, J F 2026, 'From fork to feelings: How foods shape mental health via the microbiota-gut-brain axis', Annual Review of Food Science and Technology, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 181-207. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-food-053124-110137
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