Heal your gut to heal your mind
The microbiome just might be the key to mental health and so much of our environment and our habits are disrupting our microbiome.
Let’s dig into why this matters, and how very simple changes can completely change your microbiome and support your mental health.
First, what is the microbiome?
The microbiome is made up of trillions of microorganisms which include bacteria, fungi, and viruses that live primarily in your gut. There actually 10 times as many microbial cells as human cells that make up our body. We are a host for a lot of different species, and even though it sounds super creepy, as it turns out these bacteria are a necessary component of our health.
Our microbiome helps us to digest our food, synthesize vitamins making them usable for our cells, metabolize drugs, detoxify harmful carcinogens and other free radicals, stimulate renewal of cells in the gut lining that prevent issues like inflammation, leaky gut, and auto-immune conditions, and it plays a major role in supporting and activating the immune system.
And on top of all of that, our gut microbiome is largely responsible for making our happy neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and GABA. These neurotransmitters are a big part of our mood and stress regulation, plus just overall mental well-being.
It’s not just in your head - it might be in your gut.
If you’ve been following me for any length of time then you’ve probably heard me talk about the gut-brain axis. This is the communication network that brings the gut and the brain together. It involves the vagus nerve (the nerve that helps us to feel calm and in our body), our immune system which when triggered on has a massive impact on our stress state, as well as the regulation of hormones like cortisol and adrenaline.
90% of serotonin, the “feel good” neurotransmitter, is made in the gut.
There have been countless studies showing that the health of your gut is directly linked to things like anxiety, depression, focus, and stress resilience.
Our mental health and our physical health are not separate things. Everything is connected!
So knowing the massive impact our microbiome has on our mental health, what are some things we can do to improve the health of our microbiome, and what things might we be doing to damage it?
Here are some things that negatively impact the microbiome:
Chronic Stress
This is where people get stuck in a loop of their stress impacting their gut then their gut creating more stress. When your Fight/Flight/Freeze state activates, one of the first things affected is your gut. Short term our body can handle it, but long term it starts to do a lot of damage.
When we’re in survival mode our gut tends to do one of two things: Either our body says, “okay everyone out!” and we have frequent loose stools, or digestion completely stops and we struggle with constipation. Constant loose stools will cause damage to our microbiome because it ends up starving it of nutrients because nothing stays in our gut long enough to fully break down. Constipation does damage because it causes fermentation which creates an environment the microbiome cannot thrive in.
Regulating your nervous system so you’re not living in survival mode is vital if you want to address your gut health and microbiome.
Poor Diet
Processed foods, added sugars, artificial sweeteners, and low-fiber diets have been show to harm our beneficial gut bacteria.
We have an entire ecosystem inside of our gut! And the foods we add into can completely change up which parts thrive and which parts die off.
We have yeasts like candida which are a necessary part of our microbiome, but if we eat a high sugar and high simple carb diet then we’ll feed candida and starve other beneficial bacteria.
On top of this most pesticides and fungicides used on our produce negatively impact our gut. Glyphosate which is sprayed on so many products is an antibiotic and can completely diminish your microbiome.
Look up the Dirty Dozen and buy those fruits and veggies organic when possible. Also look up the Clean 15 and see which ones are safest to buy conventional.
Antibiotics and Medications
Most people understand that antibiotics disrupt the microbiome. Their entire job is to kill off bacteria = ANTI-Biotic. But unfortunately they don’t just single out the ones giving you problems. Antibiotics can be life saving, but taking them when unnecessary only causes long term problems. And they are often overprescribed.
But a lot of people don’t realize that there are a LOT of medications, over-the-counter and prescribed, that cause damage to the microbiome.
The one that isn’t talked about enough are SSRI’s. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI’s) are meds that help you to use more of the serotonin that you already have, which helps you to feel happier. SSRI’s are typically prescribed by doctors when someone is struggling with anxiety or depression.
The irony is that SSRI’s have been shown to negatively impact the gut microbiome, and it’s in the gut that 90% of your serotonin is made!!
Do you see how that is problematic?
SSRI’s end up hurting the problem they’re supposed to address. They might be necessary in the short term, but they can be problematic long term. It’s definitely something worth discussing with your doctor and doing your own research on.
Other meds that can be harmful to the gut: NSAIDs, PPIs (proton pump inhibitors), Chemo drugs, hormonal contraceptives (birth control), Statins, and Antifungal Meds.
Medications can at times be necessary and even life-saving, but you also want to look at longer term solutions that address any root cause issues such as gut dysbiosis, toxicity, physical or emotional trauma, etc.
**NEVER change your medications unless closely working with your prescribing provider.
Environmental Toxins
We are surrounded by harmful chemicals in our food, our water, the air, and in our personal care products. So many of them are endocrine disruptors, but a lot of them can have a negative impact on our gut microbiome as well.
Limiting your exposure from chemicals like phthalates, triclosan, BHA, Formaldehyde, Paragons, Pesticides, and fluoride in tap water can make a huge difference in preventing harm to your microbiome.
Sleep
Getting quality sleep impacts just about every part of your health including your microbiome.
Studies show that chronic sleep deprivation reduces microbial diversity. When our microbiome loses it’s diversity, it’s linked to inflammation, metabolic issues, and mood disorders.
Sleep deprivation can also promote the growth of pro-inflammatory and pathogenic bacteria.
Not only this, but our gut microbiome has it’s own circadian rhythm! Certain bacteria peak in activity at different times of the day. When our sleep cycle is disrupted, it can mess up that microbial rhythm which can mess with our digestion, metabolism, and immune function. And overall lead to issues with our gut-brain axis.
Now that we’ve covered some things we want to avoid, what are some things we can do to support a thriving microbiome?
Eat a diverse, whole-foods diet
Our good gut bacteria thrive on fiber and plant phytonutrients. Having a diverse gut means having a diverse diet.
Our gut bacteria eats what we eat. Start considering what you’re putting in your mouth and what kind of environment it’s going to create in your gut.
Fiber-rich vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes are amazing for the microbiome. Start adding these to each meal.
Fermented foods
Our world did not used to be so sanitary. When you picked an apple fresh off a tree that grew naturally, there would be countless beneficial bacteria that you would consume from that fruit.
But now with the amount of pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides on all of our food, we lack a lot of that exposure. So adding in fermented foods is a great way to make up for it!
Yogurt (make sure it doesn’t have added sugar), kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut, miso, and kombucha are some examples of foods to start adding into your daily diet. Just make sure they are raw and unpasteurized.
Prebiotics
These are compounds that feed our microbiome. Adding into our diet foods that feed our beneficial microbiome is key is maintaining it’s health.
Some examples of prebiotic rich foods are garlic, onions, leeks, asparagus, bananas, apples, berries, legumes, oats, barley, flaxseeds, chia seeds, sweet potatoes, casssava, seaweed, and dandelion greens.
Hydrate
When we’re dehydrated it has a negative impact on our digestion. Anything that negatively impacts our digestion has a negative impact on our microbiome.
My daily hydration goals are half my body weight in ounces.
That means if you weigh 150 lbs, then you will ideally drink 75 ounces of a water in a day. That includes using water in cooking and things like tea.
If you’re far underneath that goal, just start by drinking a glass of water as soon as you wake up in the morning. Often doing that will increase your thirst throughout the day.
Supportive Supplements
Taking a quality pre + pro-biotic can be incredibly helpful considering we don’t always have the perfect diet and lifestyle.
This is why I’m so obsessed with Happy Juice. It’s not only a quality pre + pro-biotic containing strains that have been shown to support specific strains that impact your happy neurotransmitters, but it’s balancing effects can help you to regulate your nervous system so that your stress isn’t able to have the same kind of negative impact on your microbiome.
My gut has improved drastically since I’ve added this to my daily routine. If you struggle with any kind of gut or mental health challenges, I cannot recommend this supplement enough.
Get more information HERE.
Use code REBOOT to get a free 3 Day gut reset that is specifically designed to reboot your microbiome. (Offer good thru December 17th)
Addressing your gut health is a cornerstone if you want to address your mental health. They go hand in hand.
Nervous system regulation is more than breathing techniques and affirmations. Our minds and bodies are interconnected. If you want to heal your mind, you have to look at the gut too.
What small change can you make today to positively impact your gut microbiome?