The Connection Between Your Gut And Your Brain
Have you ever noticed that you're particularly grouchy when you're hungry?
Or maybe certain foods ramp up your anxiety – this can happen with caffeine, for example.
Maybe you've noticed that when you think about food you suddenly feel hunger that you didn't before.
All of these are the obvious signs that your gut and your brain are connected.
Of course, where there are obvious clues, there are more subtle ones.
The connection between our brain health and gut health is just starting to be explored.
A pertinent example of the gut-brain axis is in the overlap between IBS and depression.
Here, we see many who struggle with IBS see symptoms overlap with mood concerns.
And gut-brain treatments like gut specific CBT can be useful tools.
Your emotions come from your brain, but they affect your whole body.
I’m Dr. Antonella Aguilera-Ruiz, a virtual naturopathic doctor based in Sacramento, and the main focus of my practice is on mental health.
And when it comes to naturopathic treatments for depression or other mental health concerns, we don’t just focus on the symptoms.
Instead, we take a whole body approach.
By addressing the root cause of your mental health concerns, we can help resolve them at a deeper level.
In fact, we’ve explored this topic before, in a previous article - Anxiety And Gut Health.
But this time, let's explore in more detail how your brain and gut are connected, and what the implications are for your diet and wellbeing.
What Is The Gut Brain Connection
The connection between your gut and your brain may explain the waves of anxiety that send you to the bathroom repeatedly.
Stomach problems can be linked to anxiety, and you might not be able to tell which is causing which.
Your brain and your gut are so connected that the health of one affects the health of the other.
This means your gastrointestinal system is linked to your emotions.
If you've noticed that you feel certain things – like anger, anxiety, or sadness – in your stomach, the gut brain connection is why.
Have you noticed that even just thinking about food causes a reaction in your stomach?
This is also because of this connection.
But how does this connection work?
The Role Of Neurotransmitters
There's a communication network that helps your brain and gut talk to each other.
Chemicals in your body called neurotransmitters are one of parts of this communication network.
Usually, neurotransmitters are known for being in charge of your emotions.
You may have heard of serotonin, for example.
Serotonin is the neurotransmitter that helps you feel happiness.
Your brain isn't the only organ in your body creating neurotransmitters though, however surprising that may seem.
The cells in your gut and the millions of microbes there also create serotonin, along with other neurotransmitters that are responsible for different emotions.
GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), for example, is another neurotransmitter that your gut produces, which contributes to your feelings of anxiety and fear.
The Role Of Your Vagus Nerve
Nerves in your nervous system connect your brain to your gut via millions of neurons.
Neurons are nerve cells that are usually found in your brain.
They send messages throughout your body, controlling a number of the activities your body does every day.
While there are an estimated 86 billion neurons in your brain, there are also neurons in your gut – about 500 million of them.
The vagus nerve is one of the largest nerves in your body that connects your brain and your gut.
This nerve can send signals from your gut to your brain and vice versa – communicating in both directions.
This is the primary link between your brain and your gut.
It’s also connected to your heart, lungs, liver, spleen, kidneys, and others.
Studies have shown that this connection may be important for both digestive health and mental health.
The Role Of Your Gut Microbiome
Chemicals made by the microbes living in your gut affect how your brain functions.
It’s through these various chemicals that we think the signaling between the gut and brain happens.
Have you heard of short chain fatty acids like butyrate, acetate, or propionate?
These short chain fatty acids, or SCFA, control things like appetite.
Butyrate is known for creating the barrier between your blood and your brain (the blood brain barrier).
Bile acids and amino acids processed in your gut may not just affect your liver's ability to absorb dietary fats – they could be affecting your brain as well.
Using The Mediterranean Diet To Heal Your Gut
If you're looking for an effective way to get on track healing your brain to gut connection, the Mediterranean diet can be a good place to start.
This diet may help prevent depression.
One of the possible mechanisms by which it’s beneficial could be because it helps the microbiome, thus affecting the brain-gut axis.
The Mediterranean diet naturally includes foods that are high in fiber and phytonutrients which support the gut and brain.
What's The Mediterranean Diet?
The Mediterranean eating pattern refers to the traditional cuisine that emerged from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea.
This cuisine will vary across countries, but it generally is rooted in its connection to the Mediterranean as well as the production of olives and grapes.
Decades of research has shown that this traditional eating pattern helps people live longer and with less disease.
In particular, people who eat a Mediterranean diet have a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and more.
The Mediterranean diet places a focus on eating leafy greens, whole grains, fruit, vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds, and heart healthy fats for cooking.
But what about mental health?
Newer data in the field of nutritional psychiatry is beginning to see a benefit to depression and anxiety for those who adopt a Mediterranean eating pattern.
We’re still learning what mechanisms are at play, though, and there are still many questions to be answer.
Does it have a positive effect on gut flora?
Is it nutrient availability?
Is the diet pattern anti-inflammatory?
Does engaging in group classes with a focus on self efficacy and cooking have a positive community effect?
If you’re eating a Mediterranean diet, you’ll be getting more of the nutrients we’ll explore below.
These nutrients can help support your gut brain connection – they’re beneficial for both your digestive and your mental health.
1. Omega 3 Fatty Acids
The Mediterranean diet is naturally rich in omega 3 fatty acids.
These are linked to a variety of health benefits, including reducing inflammation and promoting heart health.
It is thought that they're involved in better brain health, especially during early life and pregnancy.
Some research suggests that omega 3 fatty acids increase the diversity of healthy gut bacteria as well.
Further studies indicate that omega 3 can even reduce symptoms of depression.
You can get omega 3 fatty acids in salmon, oysters, sardines, and herring.
Plant based sources like flaxseeds and walnuts also have omega 3s, but your body has to work harder to convert them.
Below, you’ll find some of my favorite recipes rich in omega 3 fatty acids.
Spring monkey beans (with added salmon)
Cardamom chia nut butter (with added walnuts)
Coconut sesame granola
2. Dietary Fiber
Fiber is another thing that's prevalent in the Mediterranean diet that's shown to be great for your overall health.
Eating lots of fibrous foods has been linked to getting fewer diseases.
In fact, one of the last remaining hunter gatherer societies, the Hazda of Tanzania, eat a diet very high in fiber and have some of the most diverse gut microbiomes in the world.
While we don't fully understand it yet, there's a connection between levels of dietary fiber and depression.
What foods are high in fiber, you ask?
Turn to fruit and vegetables, beans, lentils, and seeds.
As for fiber rich recipes, some of my favorites include:
Quinoa porridge with blueberries
3. Fermented foods
When bacteria break down the sugars and yeast in food, that process is called fermentation.
Fermented foods are known to be high in probiotics, which have health benefits.
Fermented foods have always been part of a traditional way of eating and preparing food across cultures, from miso to coffee to sauerkraut.
It's believed that fermented foods improve digestion.
These bacteria may also be exerting an influence on the brain.
Some small studies have shown that drinking a fermented yogurt had an effect on how the brain responded to emotions.
Kefir, kombucha, kimchi, Greek yogurt (also rich in calcium), and miso are all popular fermented foods that can help you increase the probiotics in your system.
Some of my favorite recipes for these foods include:
Book Your Appointment With Wild Lemon Health Today
You can see how intricately your gut and brain connection are linked.
But we've really only touched the surface of how the foods you're eating can affect your health.
If you're still on the hunt for more information and want to know how you can start finding the path to better gut brain health for you, then don't wait.
We're here to guide you toward a better path to health, and you can start now with a free 15 minute introductory call.
