By: Tracey O'Shea, FNP-C
Pay close attention to your gut–brain connection as it may contribute to mood changes and digestion problems.
The Gut–Brain Connection
The gut–brain axis is an intricate bidirectional communication pathway between the nervous system and the intestines. This links the emotional and cognitive centers of the brain with the peripheral intestinal functions. There is a lot of excitement around how the signaling from the gut microbiota (the ecosystem of microorganisms in a person’s gastrointestinal system) to the brain and from the brain to the gut microbiota can impact a number of systems. It’s thought that this “cross talk” between the two systems helps ensure proper balance and maintenance of the gastrointestinal system and may even affect motivation, cognitive function, immune activation, mood, and more.
How Your Gut Impacts Your Mood
Overgrowth of pathogenic bacteria in the gut or consumption of high-inflammatory foods can cause inflammation in the gastrointestinal system, creating a state of chronic inflammation and circulation of inflammatory cytokines. These inflammatory cytokines can cross from the gut into the bloodstream and cross the blood–brain barrier—a layer of very protective cells that tries to protect the brain—and initiate inflammation within the cells of the nervous system, impacting neurochemicals responsible for mood regulation. The gut microbiota can also impact the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis—your stress response system—by altering stress response and cortisol levels, and in turn, a chronic or acute stress state has been shown to impact the permeability and stability of the gut microbiota.
While there’s still more research needed, a variety of animal studies have shown that the gut microbiota ecosystem directly impacts stress reactivity from a very early age and that by supporting or replacing the gut microbiota, stress reactivity can be improved. Other studies have shown that certain species of gut organisms are linked with depression, anxiety, and mood disorders.
Lifestyle Tips to Support Your Gut–Brain Health
1. Take probiotics
Probiotics can do more than just improve your gut; they can indirectly enhance your brain, too. Supporting your gut microbiota with probiotics has been shown to positively impact stress response, mood, and overall health. Studies have shown that probiotics reduce stress-induced release of cortisol, anxiety, and depression-related behavior.
2. Manage your stress
Reducing your levels of chronic stress and implementing strategies to help man
age stress, like meditation, yoga, and time in nature can help reduce chronic release of stress hormones that impact the gut microbiota, in turn impacting the nervous system.
3. Avoid inflammatory and processed foods
Eating processed and inflammatory foods that are high in sugar, trans fats, and highly processed oils causes a reduction in beneficial gut bacteria, increases inflammation within the gut, and reduces resiliency of your immune system, all negatively impacting the bidirectional signaling pathways from the gut to the brain.
4. Consume prebiotic foods
Prebiotic foods are foods that support the growth and activity of beneficial gut microorganisms, essentially food for your gut microbiota. This helps shift the ecosystem of your gut microbiota to further support the beneficial cross talk between the gut and brain. Examples of prebiotic foods are typically whole foods like onion, garlic, mushrooms, Jerusalem artichokes, underripe bananas, and blueberries.
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