Consider this… If you really took care of your gut health, digestion, and microbiome… maybe your mood, mindset and how you feel in yourself could be better than you’ve ever imagined!?
The state and quality of our mindset and mood really is dependent on the state and quality of our gut health. And vice versa. There’s a constant conversation going on between your gut and your brain.
To take care of your gut health, and in turn support your mood and mindset, it’s best to first know what the ‘gut’ and ‘gut health’ actually means.
What is the ‘gut’?
When we think of the ‘gut’, it’s important to remember we’re really speaking of the ‘gastrointestinal (GI) or digestive system’; a long tube made up of many organs that extends from our mouth to our other end. 💩
Your digestive system includes your mouth, oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum, and anus. As well as the ‘accessory organs’ - the salivary glands, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas (1). Let's just say that poppin' probiotics might not get you to true gut health, and you might be surprised just how simple the foundations of good gut health and digestion really are...more on this shortly.
Together, these organs ingest and digest the food and fluids we consume, they absorb the nutrients necessary for energy, growth, and tissue repair, and excrete unwanted waste materials from the body (1).
So prioritising gut health, fundamentally means getting the most out of the foods we eat, ensuring our bodies have access to the nutrients and minerals required for our basic brain and body functions, and effectively eliminating waste.
If those aren’t important enough, it turns out the gut plays a key role in whole health and development of disease. This is known by traditional medicine, and now proven by modern science.
The Gut Microbiome
Within our gastrointestinal tract is our gut microbiome; the trillions of microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and fungi) and their genetic material, some helpful, others potentially harmful (2, 3). The balance being important beyond words - we are literally more bacteria than we are human cells!
Our gut microbiome plays a key role in breaking down the food and fluids we consume, absorbing nutrients, and other digestive processes (2.3). However, they equally contribute to processes that extend beyond the gut like metabolism, body composition, immune regulation, brain function, mood and mental health (4, 5, 6).
Our gut bacteria extensively influence our mental and emotional state, and the stability of our stress response. It has been shown that changes in our microbiome are directly linked to changes in brain chemistry and behaviour. Such that many mood disorders such as anxiety, depression, autism, and ADHD now have well-established links to disruptions in our digestive function and microbiome (5, 6).
... But how do our gut and brain talk to each other?
Your “Second Brain” & The Gut-Brain Axis
We’ve heard that our gut is our ‘second brain’, to ‘trust our gut’, ‘go with our gut-feeling’. . . but just how much feeling is happening in our gut? and can we trust it?
Well, it turns out that the gut is wrapped in more nerves than are found in our spinal cord, making up what’s called the ‘enteric nervous system’ (ENS) (7, 8).
The main role of the ENS is to control the processes of digestion, absorption, and elimination of the foods we eat, from releasing digestive enzymes and hormones to muscle movement and blood flow (8).
Being so close to our microbiome, the ENS acts as a bridge between our gut bacteria and our nervous system, and communicates with the central nervous system (incl. our brain) via the vagus nerve (8, 9, 10). The vagus nerve is like a hotline between our gut and our brain.
It is through this constant communication that shifts in digestive function or dysbiosis, can lead to shifts in our mental and emotional state. Equally, shifts in our mental or emotional state can lead to digestive discomfort, dysregulation, and/or dysbiosis (10).
Improve Vagal Tone
Vagal tone is correlated with our capacity to regulate our stress response and has even been proven a useful adjunct in the treatment of depression, PTSD, and inflammatory bowel diseases (11, 12). The catch is, stress inhibits the vagus nerve and can lead to digestive disruption and dysbiosis (11). So, regular exercise, cold showers or immersion, humming/gargling, meditation, and diaphragmatic breathing are all great ways to improve vagal tone.
Whole-foods Diet
Base your diet on a diversity of whole foods in their most natural state. Minimise processed foods and the additives, preservatives, and fillers that come with them. Plenty of fibre and a daily dose fermented foods are like a massage for your microbiome!
At Mitchells, we are committed to keeping it clean, what you see is truly what you get. When it comes to eating well, it's not just about getting the nutrients in, but also keeping the toxic or harmful substances out. Our range of bone broths and organ supplements are derived from grass-fed and finished NZ beef and admittedly our price point is a little higher, purely because we haven't added any cheap and nasties!
Address Your Stress
Simply slowing down our thoughts and actions can have far-reaching benefits for our brain and biome! Before you look for the next supplement or service, see if you can simply eat a little slower, be more present with the people close to you, send your breath a little deeper into your belly, pause and assess your perception: is this 'stress' real or perceived?
Summary
Taking care of your gut health isn’t just about what you eat; it’s a holistic approach that involves understanding the intricate relationship between your gut and brain. By focusing on a balanced diet rich in whole foods and fibre, improving vagal tone through mindfulness practices, and addressing stress proactively, you can enhance both your digestive health and overall mood. Remember, a healthy gut can lead to a healthier mood and mindset, and vice versa. Prioritise these foundational aspects to experience a better state of well-being than you might have ever imagined!
Words from our inhouse Naturopath & Medical Herbalist Emma @nalaholistic_nz
References:
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Cheng, L. K., O'Grady, G., Du, P., Egbuji, J. U., Windsor, J. A., & Pullan, A. J. (2010). Gastrointestinal system. Wiley interdisciplinary reviews. Systems biology and medicine, 2(1), 65–79. https://doi.org/10.1002/wsbm.19
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Ogunrinola, G. A., Oyewale, J. O., Oshamika, O. O., & Olasehinde, G. I. (2020). The Human Microbiome and Its Impacts on Health. International journal of microbiology, 2020, 8045646. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/8045646
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Sorboni, S. G., Moghaddam, H. S., Jafarzadeh-Esfehani, R., & Soleimanpour, S. (2022). A Comprehensive Review on the Role of the Gut Microbiome in Human Neurological Disorders. Clinical microbiology reviews, 35(1), e0033820. https://doi.org/10.1128/CMR.00338-20
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Manos J. (2022). The human microbiome in disease and pathology. APMIS : acta pathologica, microbiologica, et immunologica Scandinavica, 130(12), 690–705. https://doi.org/10.1111/apm.13225
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Wilson, D. R., Binford, L., & Hickson, S. (2024). The Gut Microbiome and Mental Health. Journal of holistic nursing : official journal of the American Holistic Nurses' Association, 42(1), 79–87. https://doi.org/10.1177/08980101231170487
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Xiong, R. G., Li, J., Cheng, J., Zhou, D. D., Wu, S. X., Huang, S. Y., Saimaiti, A., Yang, Z. J., Gan, R. Y., & Li, H. B. (2023). The Role of Gut Microbiota in Anxiety, Depression, and Other Mental Disorders as Well as the Protective Effects of Dietary Components. Nutrients, 15(14), 3258. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15143258
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Clapp, M., Aurora, N., Herrera, L., Bhatia, M., Wilen, E., & Wakefield, S. (2017). Gut microbiota's effect on mental health: The gut-brain axis. Clinics and practice, 7(4), 987. https://doi.org/10.4081/cp.2017.987
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Furness, J. B., Callaghan, B. P., Rivera, L. R., & Cho, H. J. (2014). The enteric nervous system and gastrointestinal innervation: integrated local and central control. Advances in experimental medicine and biology, 817, 39–71. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0897-4_3
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Hyland, N. P., & Cryan, J. F. (2016). Microbe-host interactions: Influence of the gut microbiota on the enteric nervous system. Developmental biology, 417(2), 182–187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ydbio.2016.06.027
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Montagnani, M., Bottalico, L., Potenza, M. A., Charitos, I. A., Topi, S., Colella, M., & Santacroce, L. (2023). The Crosstalk between Gut Microbiota and Nervous System: A Bidirectional Interaction between Microorganisms and Metabolome. International journal of molecular sciences, 24(12), 10322. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241210322
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Breit, S., Kupferberg, A., Rogler, G., & Hasler, G. (2018). Vagus Nerve as Modulator of the Brain-Gut Axis in Psychiatric and Inflammatory Disorders. Frontiers in psychiatry, 9, 44. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00044
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Broncel, A., Bocian, R., Kłos-Wojtczak, P., Kulbat-Warycha, K., & Konopacki, J. (2020). Vagal nerve stimulation as a promising tool in the improvement of cognitive disorders. Brain research bulletin, 155, 37–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainresbull.2019.11.011