I’m from northern Vermont, and am the descendant of a long line of uptight Puritans and taciturn ice fishermen. Chattiness is not our bag. At parties, we’re big on nail-biting reticence and we tend to have an over-developed concept of personal space. A lot of us, as kids, hid behind the couch when company came to call. Social anxiety, just possibly, may be in our genes.

But now there may be a simple solution. And it’s pickles.

It’s been common knowledge for decades that our mental state affects our innards: anxiety can bring on nausea or diarrhea; depression can make us lose (or gain) an appetite. Now, however, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the brain-to-gut pathway is a two-way street. Not only does the