Mind Your Gut

We have a gut feeling that you know all about gut feeling.  What you might not have heard of is the science behind it. With hundreds of millions of neurons (nerve cells that communicate with the whole body), lining your digestive tract, it’s no surprise our guts are called the second brain.

When we approach a decision intuitively, our brains and tummy “talk” to quickly access memories, past learnings, personal needs, and preferences to arrive at the wisest decision given the context. Is your gut telling you that things are not as they’re supposed to be? You’ve probably had that experience before—you just don’t know it.

Did you know that we can eat our way to better mental health? We just need to know what to eat. A diet rich in fiber, whole foods, and fermented products promotes the growth of good bacteria and improves our gut health. When it’s all good down there, a pathway called the vagus nerve sends signals to our brains up top to let it know that it has one less organ to worry about.

We’ve all heard about serotonin, or the happy hormone. Contrary to popular belief, recent studies have shown that 95% of this hormone is produced in the gut rather than in the brain.

As always, we are never powerless to change our physical states, all it takes is a few mindful choices. Here are some things you can do to better both mind and gut health:

• Avoid having too much red meat, cigarettes, and highly processed foods. Moderation is key, as well as finding healthier alternatives.

• Incorporate daily movement and exercise. Research has shown that deliberate movement and exercise positively affect gut-brain connection, as well as boosting overall body satisfaction. As a bonus, regular exercise promotes healthy sleep, which is great for your mental state.

• Engage in stress-reducing activities like mediation, deep breathing exercises, yoga, or leisurely walks in nature. A calmer mind creates a calmer gut, and vice versa.

If you’re a 90’s or an early 2000’s kid, you already know what this is. Lactobacillus Shirota Strain is a type of probiotic found in fermented dairy products. Nicknamed, “good bacteria”, probiotics live in our gut and support the digestive system. How do they do it? That’s where prebiotics come in. These are dietary fibers that nourish the good bacteria.

When these two work in tandem, we have the ingredients to create a healthy gut microbiome that promotes a good mental state. Get your regular dose of prebiotics by eating foods like onions, garlic, and banana.

Now we know how connected our brain is to our stomach. Be sure to consider everything we include in our regular dietary intake. The next time someone tells us “Be mindful of what you eat,” we can take it literally!

Sources:

1. Cryan, J. F., & Dinan, T. G. (2012). Mind-altering microorganisms: the impact of the gut microbiota on brain and behaviour. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 13(10), 701–712. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3346
2. News-Medical. (2022, November 2). Gut microbiota influences social behavior by stimulating microglial remodeling of brain circuits. https://www.news-medical.net/news/20221101/Gut-microbiota-influences-social-behavior-by-stimulating-microglial-remodeling-of-brain-circuits.aspx