You are what you eat. The truth about gut health.

We’ve all heard the saying before. But did you ever stop to think about why we are what we eat?
When it comes to symptoms like low energy levels and weight gain we can understand the relationship on a surface level, but the reality is that what we put on our plate affects us on a much deeper level as well.

Did you know your gut health has a big role to play in feeling anxious, experiencing low moods and other mental health issues?

This is partly due to the gut bacteria, which make chemical messages that are sent to the brain to balance out the neurotransmitters that keep us feeling good, such as GABA, dopamine and serotonin.

The mind-gut connection

It’s called the mind-gut connection and is a complete game-changer for your mental health once you start to understand the real-life impacts that the food we choose means for us.

Gut bacteria can easily fall out of balance, which affects the process of creating those feel-good neurotransmitters.
Depending on what you read, around 80% of the body’s serotonin is actually made inside the gut. So if your digestion isn’t working so well, you guessed it, you could be saying bye-bye to optimal serotonin production, and nobody needs that!

The mind has a profound impact on our digestive processes. It can even slow things down and cut off blood flow to our gastrointestinal organs if we are under stress. This can mean that nutrients are not effectively broken down and absorbed, meaning we lack the building blocks required to make those happy brain chemicals in the first place, and the cycle goes on.

Your gut microbiome

Imagine how big a stadium would need to be to fill 100 trillion people. Now imagine the 100 trillion living organisms in the diverse ecosystem making up your gut microbiome. It’s pretty wild to imagine, isn’t it!

This incredible bacteria within you is one of the longest relationships you will have in your life. They live in a symbiotic relationship within us that maintains our digestive system without us even thinking twice. This balance of bacteria will change rapidly to your diet shifting, as you make positive choices around food and lifestyle, as well as more harmful ones.

So if you’ve noticed some shifts lately in your mood, maybe you’ve become a little extra irritable or snappy with your partner or family, feeling anxious or stressed more than usual - perhaps it’s time to look into the impact of what you’ve been putting on your plate lately.

The good news is, the microbiome is incredibly forgiving! And any negative effects your diet has had on your mental health is 100% reversible. Knowledge is certainly power in this case and now that you are armed with the knowledge, you can take the steps to start feeding your gut microbiome in favour of happiness and positivity starting right now!

There are 100 trillion living organisims inside your stomach right now. Just let that sink in for a moment.

Add these in to your diet to start feeding the good guys and starving the bad guys.

Omega 3 fatty acids
Fermented foods like sauerkraut & kefir
Probiotics
Polyphenol-rich foods (like berries and vibrant vegetables)

And next time you’re feeling anxious or stressed and ready to reach for that quick comforting sugar hit or guilty pleasure, perhaps you’ll stop and think about whether you are feeding into the negative cycle or the positive one. Don’t worry a cookie or two won’t undo all your hard work, this newfound awareness will continue to be the key ingredient to positive change.

If you want to dive deeper into the mind-gut connection, we recommend a book called

“The Mind-Gut Connection, How The Hidden Conversation Within Our Bodies Impacts Our Mood, Our Choices, And Our Overall Health” By Emeran Mayer and you can check it out here

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