New Delhi: The link between your brain and gut is stronger than most of us could know. The sensation you are experiencing could reflect the complex interaction between your mental state and your digestive system—a relationship that research is now demonstrating to be very important for overall health. Many have long believed that emotional and physical health are strongly related, but new studies have shown that gut health is essential in determining mood, stress level, mental wellness, and vice versa. Acting as a two-way communication network, this link is known as the gut-brain axis, which constantly sends messages between your digestive system and brain, therefore affecting everything, even cognitive ability.
While talking about the same Dr Debojyoti Dhar, Co-founder and Director, of Leucine Rich Bio, decoded the association between gut and mental health.
The Gut-Brain Axis: Continuous Communication
The gut-brain axis is like an ongoing dialogue between two major systems in the human body. One of the main enablers in this dialogue is the vagus nerve, which creates the main channel of communication between the brain and the gut. The gut flora is an extensive colony of trillions of microorganisms that are present in the digestive tract and play a critical role in regulating various bodily functions.
These microorganisms affect your mental state by generating important neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, both of which are necessary for mood control, not only for digestion. The gut generates about 90% of the serotonin in the body, sometimes known as the “feel-good” neurotransmitter. That is why when the gut is out of balance because of stress, a bad diet, or disease, it can impact brain activity and cause mental health issues, including anxiety and sadness.
How Does Gut Health Affect Mental Health?
Unfortunately, when the delicate equilibrium of the gut is disturbed—a disorder sometimes referred to as dysbiosis—the consequences usually show up. Poor gut flora can cause the body to become more inflammatory, which influences brain function and mood control adversely. Gut inflammation can change the synthesis of neurotransmitters, therefore compromising emotional equilibrium. Often resulting from poor gut health, chronic inflammation has been linked significantly to disorders including anxiety, depression, and cognitive loss.
Furthermore, influencing gut health is the fact that long-term stress can be detrimental. Rising stress levels cause the body to release hormones like cortisol, which can throw off gut flora and aggravate inflammation. This starts a cycle whereby poor gut health aggravates stress and anxiety, and stresses aggravate gut health.
Routines to Boost Mental and Physical Health
The good news is that with little lifestyle adjustments, mental health as well as gut health can be improved. One excellent place to start is a varied and well-balanced diet. While fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, and sauerkraut contain probiotics that help keep a healthy balance in your gut microbiota, fibre-rich meals such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains feed the helpful microorganisms present in the gut. Apart from diet balance, controlling stress is quite important. Regular physical activity, meditation, and mindfulness techniques have all been found to enhance gut health by encouraging the growth of good bacteria and therefore lowering inflammation. At last, enough sleep is vital, as bad sleep habits can upset the gut flora, which can cause emotional disturbances compromising the general state of health.
Nurturing the Gut Is the Key to Healing the Mind
Overall, gut health often reflects our emotional state. By nurturing it properly, not only are we improving digestion; but we’re also building stronger mental and emotional foundations for ourselves and strengthening them further. So the next time you find yourself feeling anxious or feeling low, remember: the key to a happier you might be closer than you think!
The gut-brain axis is like an ongoing dialogue between two major systems in the human body. One of the main enablers in this dialogue is the vagus nerve, which creates the main channel of communication between the brain and the gut. Health Conditions Health News: Latest News from Health Care, Mental Health, Weight Loss, Disease, Nutrition, Healthcare
