3 Ways Gut Health Improves Mental Health
- Crissy Luna
- Jan 27, 2018
- 2 min read
Mental Health and Brain Health
The National Institute of Mental Health reports that major depression is one of the most common mental disorders in the United States. But even if you're not depressed, I'd be willing to bet money that most people reading this post have first-hand experience with any one of the following issues: brain fog, increased memory loss, irritability, anxiety, long-term stress, or have difficulty coping with stress. If any of those symptoms ring true for you, your first stop should be to improve your gut health.
How Gut health improves Mental health
The health of the gut is implicated in every single system in the body, but the two body systems effected most by the health of the gut are the Immune System and the Nervous System, which the brain is a very intricate part of. But, for the purpose of this post, we'll keep it simple. There are so many reasons why it's important to keep your gut in tip-top shape for your brain health, but let's consider 3 of them:
Serotonin: Our gut bacteria manufactures about 90-95 percent of the body's supply of serotonin. Serotonin influences both mood and GI activity, pain perception, and our perception of hunger and satiety.
Neurochemicals: Our gut bacteria both produces and responds to the same neurochemicals that the brain uses to regulate mood and cognition.
Benzodiazepine: Our gut naturally produces a substance called benzodiazepine - a chemical compound that is used as a psychoactive drug that enhances the effect of the neurotransmitter GABA - a sedative that is used to combat anxiety, insomnia, seizures and muscle spasms. Your healthy gut makes that chemical compound all on its own!
So, if you want clearer thinking, better mood regulation, and a healthier brain then you need to bring your focus to the health of your gut first. Improving your gut health along with eating lots of good, healthy fats are two great ways to love your brain.
To your mental health!
xo,
Crissy
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