An upset stomach can put anyone in a bad mood. However, research shows that gut health can have a larger impact on our minds than just a little discomfort. Several studies have confirmed that our gastrointestinal (GI) system is directly connected to our brain and is extremely sensitive to emotions.
Those butterflies or nausea that you feel when nervous are because your brain and stomach are connected. When faced with high-stress situations, depression, or anxiety, the GI system is affected and can cause symptoms such as loose stools, cramping, or heartburn.
So, if your brain can cause stomach discomfort – is it possible that if your gut health is imbalanced, it can cause mental health issues such as anxiety and depression? A new study from Duke-NUS Medical School suggests yes.
How Gut Health And Mental Health Are Connected
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Millions of nerves connect your brain and gut and communicate with each other constantly. Your immune and endocrine systems work alongside your brain and GI and communicate feelings of fullness, hunger, and disease in your gut. Gut microbes, or the bacteria that live in your gut, are crucial to the brain-gut relationship.
According to The Cleveland Clinic, “Gut microbes produce or help produce many of the chemical neurotransmitters that convey messages between your gut and brain. They also produce other chemicals affecting your brain through your bloodstream.”
When your gut bacteria is imbalanced, it can lead to issues such as anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and fatigue, along with neurodevelopmental disorders.
Researchers at Duke have found that lacking certain gut microbes increases the likelihood of fear, anxiety, and anxious behavior. The study underscores the large connection between our brains, nutrition, microbes, and gut health.
Using Good Gut Health To Maintain Mental Health
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To help boost your child’s mental health, you may need to start first with their gut, especially if they are having symptoms such as constipation, diarrhea, bloating, and cramping.
Offer kids good microbes or bacteria, often found in foods like low-sugar yogurt and fermented foods such as kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, buttermilk, and sourdough bread.
Make sure to give your kids fiber through whole-grain sources. Fiber in foods like berries, vegetables, bananas, and other fruits is more readily absorbed and used by the gut.
Limit your child’s intake of processed and sugary foods, which cause the GI to be sluggish and don’t promote good bacteria growth.
When you can, focus on food over supplements. Food is easier for the stomach to break down, digest, and absorb nutrients from than supplements.
Model good eating habits for your kids. Even if they don’t take to broccoli or asparagus immediately, setting the example for good nutrition will stick with them over time. Keep in mind that kids’ food palates change over time—what they refuse now may love later.