When I first heard that gut health affects emotions, I was pretty skeptical of it. I could see how if my stomach felt bad then I would feel bad all over and then that might affect my emotional state. After admitting to myself that I really didn't know what I was talking about in this field of health science, I began to listen and learn.
The health of the bacteria living in your "gut" is important in so many ways! It affects health, obviously, since it aids in digestion. In fact, a LOT of digestion is regulated by the bacteria living there. If they are interested in the food you eat, you will have help in digestion, but if they don't want it, you may not benefit from certain foods at all.
There are at least as many cells in your body that are nonhuman as there are cells that are human. This may be surprising, but the gut is home to TRILLIONS of cells that are called "microbiomes" that are tinier than most human cells in the body that make up who you are. These little creatures live in symbiosis with us. We provide perfect living conditions for them, and they provide essential things like vitamins K and B (as they break down food that allows them to live). They also provide access to energy from foods our body would otherwise be unable to process. We need these things to survive!
But there are also a lot of different kinds. And sometimes they don't play well together. It's a brutal world, and inside our guts it's no different. Sometimes microbiomes are harmful to us if they grow too numerous. Some microbiomes benefit us no matter how many there are.
An example of harmful microbiomes is yeast. It lives inside our guts, and they help process certain foods to extract the sugars from them. If they become too numerous, we will actually start to crave sugar. (Yes, our brains will actually listen to the cries of microbiomes for "more sugar" and create cravings to get us to eat more.) These cells are also strong and hard to kill, but there are other microbiomes that will counter them and help keep the population in check.
It's like a whole universe of different beings inside our guts. In a way that might be unsettling, but we have had these as part of us as long as humans have been on this planet (probably).
That's a brief introduction to microbiomes from someone who is not medically trained. That's just how I have come to understand them, basically. But here are some professional articles that touch on various parts of this discussion.
The above link is a good article explaining how the microbiome affects the brain. There are some good ideas here that might be surprising!
This one provides ideas on how to help encourage the "good" microbiomes to grow in population so that the "bad" ones don't have as much ability to grow.
This one will help you see a connection between gut health and anxiety and depression. This is a relatively new field of research that has shown promising results for treatment and prevention of both anxiety and depression!
And last is a good article showing things that will harm your gut microbiome. Not to take away from this article but I would add something not mentioned: sugar. One of the worst offenders in the gut (as I understand it) is yeast and the best way to have yeast thrive is to feed it lots of sugar. From what my doctor told me this is the main reason anyone would crave sugar! So, the next time you have a craving, think of the fact that you are being manipulated by a microbiome into eating more sugar. The best way to combat that is to go on a sugar fast for a month. You will be surprised how the cravings cease!
Again, I'm not a doctor, but I want to share these so that you can see for yourself from doctors and health professionals how important gut health is to your body. This micro-universe inside each of us forms a root or foundation for living a healthy and productive life.
I'm Jason Sparks and I empower men aged 30-45 to overcome self-sabotaging behaviors and find purpose through a holistic approach to personal development, integrating spiritual growth, career stability, and natural healing methods. Join me on Facebook for free. JOIN
