The gut-brain axis and why South Asian food is relevant

The gut-brain axis is one of the more compelling areas of emerging mental health research. A growing body of evidence shows that gut microbiome composition influences mood, anxiety, and cognitive function through multiple pathways, including the vagus nerve, serotonin production, and inflammatory signalling.

We’ve written about what dahi does for mood and mental health, and the probiotic connection there is well-supported. But traditional South Asian cooking goes well beyond dahi.

Legumes, a staple across South Asian cuisines, are high in both prebiotic fibre and tryptophan, the amino acid precursor to serotonin. Bitter melon, fenugreek, and mustard seeds have been studied for their effects on blood sugar regulation, which is increasingly understood as directly connected to mood stability and depression risk.

A 2019 review in Nutritional Neuroscience found that diets high in plant diversity, fermented foods, and anti-inflammatory spices were consistently associated with lower rates of depression and anxiety across populations. Traditional South Asian cooking patterns, before the shift toward more processed foods, fit that profile closely.

What happened when South Asians moved to Canada

Migration changes food patterns in predictable ways. Familiar ingredients become harder to find or more expensive. Time pressure increases. Western processed foods become more convenient. Social eating shifts.

Research on South Asian immigrant dietary patterns in Canada shows a consistent pattern: increased processed food consumption, reduced legume and vegetable intake, and higher rates of nutritional deficiencies including Vitamin D and B12, both of which have significant links to mood and depression risk.

Vitamin D deficiency is particularly worth naming. Canada’s sunlight patterns and indoor lifestyles mean that many South Asians in Canada are chronically deficient in ways that directly affect serotonin synthesis and depressive symptoms.

Diet culture and South Asian bodies

The relationship between South Asian food and wellness has been complicated by diet culture, which has not always been kind to South Asian bodies or South Asian eating traditions.

Rice gets villainised. Ghee is treated as dangerous. Traditional cooking methods and ingredients get filtered through frameworks that were not designed with South Asian bodies or lifestyles in mind. Research on eating disorders in South Asian communities is showing that rates are higher than assumed, and that a particularly painful dynamic emerges when traditional food becomes a source of shame or anxiety.

For people navigating a complicated relationship with food, finding support that understands the cultural context matters. It connects to the same principle behind why culturally adapted therapy works: generic frameworks miss the specific.

What we can actually do

The research does not point toward a dramatic overhaul. It points toward the kinds of things South Asian cooking has always done.

More legumes, more fermented foods, more spice diversity, more vegetables cooked with fat (which aids absorption of fat-soluble nutrients), and less ultra-processed convenience food. These are not radical changes. They are, in many ways, returns.

Working with a registered dietitian who understands South Asian food culture is a real option for people who want to explore this further. The Dietitians of Canada can help locate practitioners with relevant experience.

And if the relationship with food, body image, or eating is something that has become genuinely painful or disruptive, that is worth bringing into a therapy space. Getting started with a first session is an option whenever we’re ready.

The bigger picture on nutrition and mental health connects to everything else: sleep, movement, community, and professional support all sit in the same system. The goal is not perfection. It is building a life that actually supports the mind.