In this fast-paced modern lifestyle, people tend to forget about taking care of their bodies. As a result, the accumulation of stress, due to various reasons, including poor lifestyle choices, harmful eating habits and erratic sleep cycles can contribute to mental health problems. Certain mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression can originate, surprisingly from the gut! Taking care of your gut by following a proper lifestyle, a healthy diet, and improving your sleep cycle can prevent mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression and add cheerful days to your daily life.
It is important to address and create awareness of mental health issues because many people in today’s world are victims of psychological problems with growing amounts of stress. Even though there could be multiple causes of mental illness, we will try to figure out what role your gut plays in mental health issues and how to prevent mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression by changing the course of your meals and including better, gut-friendly meals in your diet.
What is the Gut-Brain connection?
Out of all the connections of the gut with different parts of your body, its connection to the brain is rather fascinating. You may have heard or even felt how eating good food keeps your body as well as your mind healthy and how eating your favorite meals instantly helps you uplift your mood. It is because of the gut-brain connection in your body. It is scientifically proven that there is a deep connection between our nervous system and our digestive system. Read more about role of gut microbiome in human health.
The main contributor to this gut-brain connection is the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve functions as a channel of communication from the internal organs such as gut, liver, heart and the brain. It brings information from the gut to the brain, hence what we eat determines how we feel.
Healthy gut function has been linked to normal central nervous system (CNS) function. The main component that helps in keeping the gut-brain connection functioning is the enormous ecosystem of bacteria and fungi found in our digestive tract called the gut microbiome. The gut microbiome forms a link for communication between the brain and the digestive tract via neurotransmitters that are formed in our digestive tract, they also work in the reverse direction, ie. from the brain to the gut. And this is the reason why certain types of mental illness like anxiety or depression are linked to poor gut health. The gut reaction to psychological problems could be due to the lack of two specific bacterias- Coprococcus and Dialister. In a research conducted on 1000 participants in Belgium [The Neuroactive potential of the human gut microbiota in quality of life and depression] it was found that these two types of bacteria were missing from the people who reported that they have a poor quality of life, that is they are depressed contrary to those who had a good quality of life. The missing bacterias may not prove to be the sole reason for the cause of depression but they could form a link between the gut and mental health.
How does your diet affect the gut – brain connection?
The gut-brain connection is determined by the interplay of bacteria present in our gut. The information from the gut is communicated with the brain via the vagus nerve. A healthy diet that includes all the nutrients required by the body, especially the gut, like fibres, healthy bacterias, etc helps the gut. To improve digestion, you can apply techniques like deep belly breaths before eating, this helps to activate the vagus nerve that can help in improving digestion.
How to reduce symptoms of anxiety via the gut?
Some of the ways you can improve your gut health and in turn reduce anxiety or depressive symptoms are very obvious, but even if they are, most people still don’t take them seriously. It is hardly fathomable how much your life could get better if you eat better, sleep better and move your body rather than sitting all day.
Eat food that is good for your gut health
Fiber is your gut’s best friend. The more you eat fiber-rich food, the better your digestion becomes and your microbiome becomes balanced. Avoid sugar-rich, processed foods that disrupt the gut microbiome.
Give up sugar and processed foods
Instead eat fresh, organic foods. Consume vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, leaks, leafy vegetables, carrots, peas (and others), fruits like apples, bananas, avocado, berries, beans and lentils, seeds like flax, chia, oats, dried nuts like almonds, more whole grains and lean animal meat. Try to avoid foods that contain sugar, gluten, dairy, and alcohol.
Consume more probiotics
Many recent studies have shown that probiotics effectively mitigated anxiety and depressive symptoms similar to conventional prescription medications. The bacteria present in your gut are responsible for making neurotransmitters and these neurotransmitters regulate your mood and other feelings such as stress or anxiety. When your microbiome gets out of control these neurotransmitters lose balance, as a result, you might feel the anxiety building. Hence, it is important to provide your gut with the important bacteria found in probiotics such as yogurt, kombucha, kimchi, sauerkraut, pickles, idli, paneer, buttermilk, etc. You can also ask your dietitian to prescribe probiotic supplements according to the needs of your body.
Gut detox
Hydrate yourself, drink lots of water, engage yourself in a high-fiber diet that improves your excretion, go for fiber-rich juices and smoothies, consume probiotics, and opt for herbal teas. Make sure you do not go for indefinite, intense detox because you might have to face severe side effects like- vomiting, nausea, dehydration, cramping, weakness, etc. Also, Awaana Health also offers a 5 days and a more intense 15 days gut detox, contact us to know more.
Sleep and Exercise
Getting quality sleep can help your gut stay healthy, which in turn will prevent you from anxiety. It is quite obvious how an improved sleep cycle can help you get just the right amount of rest your body needs. Getting the right amount of physical exercise can act as an exercise for your gut as well. Physical exercise and at least seven hours of sleep can improve the diversity of your gut microbiota which can positively affect your gut health.
Manage stress
Managing your stress to improve your gut health and improving your gut health to reduce anxiety goes hand-in-hand. Following stress-reducing techniques like meditation, breathing exercises, yoga, pranayam, doing light exercises, journaling, reading good books, and listening to soothing music can help in managing stress and reduce the amount of damage stress can cause to your gut.
Our body is a complex interconnected system. No issue or illness exists in isolation. At the end of the day, having a healthy gut really is the secret to great overall health. The good news is that even if you are currently dealing with mental health issues, making a few targeted lifestyle changes can help you get your gut—and the rest of your body—back on track.
