STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep. Old-style bars had saw dust on the floor and pickles on the bar. The saw dust made it easy to clean up spills, and maybe there was a reason for the pickles. The journal Psychiatry Research suggests pickled foods ease anxiety. It was just one study of 700 college students. People who ate more pickles, sauerkraut or kimchi had less social anxiety. It's not clear if the food made people feel better or if the people who felt better ate that food. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.