The Connection between the Bacteria in Your Gut and Your Mood
It’s not all in your head
If you have been dealing with symptoms such as anxiety, depression, or difficulty focusing without relief, it may be time to take a look at your gut health. There is a reason we often use terms like, “gut feeling” or a “gut wrenching” to describe the sensations and experiences we have.
Your mood may actually start with your gut!
Many of the neurotransmitters that affect our mood, like dopamine, GABA, acetylcholine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, are made by the bacteria in our gut.[1] This is one of the reasons why there is a big overlap between conditions like IBS and depression and anxiety and why many researchers and doctors are referring to the gut as the “second brain”. Imbalances in our gut bacteria can lead to imbalances in our mood and mental health.1
What makes a healthy gut microbiome?
A healthy gut requires a diverse and thriving microbiome- think lush garden or rainforest. Similar to fertilizer in the garden, we can which we can cultivate a diverse and flourishing microbiome through a fiber rich diet along with probiotics along with an optimally functioning nervous system.[2]
It all comes down to balance
When the nervous system and microbiome is out of balance, that can lead to gut permeability, also called “leaky gut”, which causes the immune system to release chemicals called cytokines. These cytokines cause chronic, low-level inflammation.2 Higher levels of cytokines are seen in people with mood disorders like anxiety and depression. This low grade inflammation is linked to a whole host of issues in addition to mental health concerns, from diabetes to endometriosis.[3] Gut health matters! If your provider isn’t asking you about your gut, it’s time to find another provider.
The other side of this balancing act involved health of the nervous system, specifically the enteric nervous system. When this system is out of balanced, due to chronic stress and anxiety, for example- this can cause imbalances in the microbiome as well and make it difficult to digest our food properly and get all the proper nutrition we need and puts us at increased risk for developing conditions leading to that chronic inflammation.2 This means that in addition to setting ourselves up for a healthy microbiome with diet and supplementation, we also need to be paying attention to our stress response and nervous system. Our relationship with food along with the mental state we are in while eating plays a crucial role in optimizing gut health.
I believe strongly that mental health is foundational to our overall wellbeing and it is so important to gather information on the state of digestive health to help support and optimize health. Any imbalances in the GI tract need to be addressed to optimize mental health.
Some things you can do today to help support both your gut and mental health:
· Practice mindfulness to address stress management
· Add a variety of plants in the diet- have a goal of eating 30 different plans per week
· Increase daily consumption of fiber
· Examine your relationship with food. Seek out the help of an expert if this feels triggering at all.
· Eat in an relaxed environment with minimal distractions.
[1] Albenberg, Linsdsey G., and Gary D. Wu. “Diet and the Intestinal Microbiome: Associatsions, Functions, and Implications for Health and Disease.” Gastroenterology 146 (2014): 1564-72.
[2] Whitehead WE, Palsson O, Jones KR. “Systematic review of the comorbidity of irritable bowel syndrome with other disorders: what are the causes and implications?” Gastroenterology 122 (2002): 1140–1156.
[3] Berk, M., Williams, L., Jacka, F., et. al. “So Depression is an Inflammatory Disease, But Where does the Inflammation Come From?” BMC Medicine 11 (2013): 200-216.