Did you know your gut health may affect your mood and behaviour? The belief that gut health is connected to mental well-being dates back more than a hundred years. In the early 1900’s, scientists and clinicians emphasized the relationship between gastrointestinal health and mental health.
How Your Gut Is Connected to Your Brain
The gut is connected to the brain via the vagus nerve, the enteric nervous system, and the gut-brain axis. The vagus nerve extends from the brain stem down into the neck, thorax, and abdomen. It helps regulate heart rate, speech, sweating, and various gastrointestinal functions.
The gut nervous system has been referred to as a “second brain” because of its ability to operate autonomously and communicate with the central nervous system via the vagus nerve.
The gut-brain axis links the emotional and cognitive centers of the brain with peripheral intestinal functions.
With this gut- brain connection, problems associated with the gut can have serious effects on mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety. Digestive problems and its impact on mental health are, commonly overlooked by mental health practitioners despite studies showing a strong relationship between gastrointestinal disorders and mental health. For example, many studies have shown strong links between depression and celiac disease, poor diet and depression, food allergy and depression, candida (yeast overgrowth) and depression, plus many more.
These brain conditions, are a whole-body disorder, with dysfunction of the immune system (chronic, low-grade systemic inflammation) as a very important risk factor.
This ‘systemic inflammation’ arises as a result of many of the environmental stressors that are common in our lives: poor diet, lack of exercise, smoking, overweight and obesity, lack of sleep; lack of vitamin D, and stress. Many of these factors influence gut microbiota, which in turn profoundly influence the immune system.
How and why:
There are two consequences of a poor diet that interact with the immune system and gut microbiota, as well as important aspects of brain function.
If we do not consume enough nutrient-dense foods such as fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, and fish, this can lead to insufficiencies in nutrients, antioxidants and fibre, and this has a detrimental impact on our immune system as well as affecting gene expression, gut microbiota and other aspects of physical and mental health.
A diet high in saturated fats and refined sugars has a very potent negative impact on the brain. There is no doubt that stress and uncomfortable emotions prompt us to reach for the biscuit tin and, in fact, foods high in saturated fat and refined sugar are addictive, interacting with the dopamine system in the way as other addictions.
Gut microbiota influences serotonin and dopamine production. In fact, more than 90% of the body’s serotonin is found in the gut. Serotonin is a key regulator of gastrointestinal motility. Serotonin is also one of the “feel-good” neurotransmitters and contributes to feelings of well-being and happiness. In fact, the enteric nervous system makes use of more than thirty neurotransmitters, including serotonin, dopamine, and acetylcholine.
Gut Brain Connection – Symptoms/ Signs of Gastrointestinal Problems
Because our digestive system is so important, problems in this area can lead to an almost endless array of signs of symptoms. It is often said that everything comes from the gut and therefore if there is a problem in the gut, the whole body will be adversely affected.
Although far from exhaustive, below are some of the symptoms of digestive problems:
• Stomach bloating
• Nausea
• Flatulence/ wind
• Diarrhoea
• Constipation
• Stomach pain
• Allergies
• Heartburn
• Pain or aches in joints
• Itchiness
• Dizziness
• Weight loss/ gain
• Nervousness
• Brain fog
• Poor memory and attention
• Headaches/ migraines
• Skin problems such as rashes, eczema, and psoriasis
• Pins and needles
• Brittle nails
• Recurrent urinary tract infections
• Fatigue
• Health conditions – gastrointestinal problems can increase the risk of a range of health conditions including thyroid diseases, certain cancers, anaemia, iron deficiency, diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, mental health conditions, plus many more
Improving the Gut Brain Connection
Below are some of the common causes of digestive problems that require assessment and treatment if someone presents with mental health problems and digestive complaints:
• Food allergies/ intolerances: Many of us regularly eat foods that trigger sensitivity or intolerance. While this may be fine for some people, for others the consumption of these allergic/intolerant foods can lead to significant physical and mental problems. For many people, a specific food allergy and depression are strongly interlinked.
• While identifying major allergies can be simple (peanut allergies) for other food intolerances, identifying the problem food can be more difficult. This is because for many people, the effects of the ‘intolerant food’ may not occur for up to 72 hours after the food is eaten.
Common intolerant/allergenic foods include: wheat/gluten, milk/dairy, corn, soy products, eggs, and nuts. Of specific concern is the link between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), celiac disease/ gluten intolerance and depression / anxiety.
• Medications: Many medications can cause digestive problems. For example, prolonged use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs medications containing ibuprofen) and aspirin are common culprits.
Oral contraceptives, antidepressants, cholesterol lowering drugs, chemotherapeutic drugs, diuretics and blood thinning drugs can also cause gastrointestinal problems. When used for prolonged periods, many medications used to treat digestive problems can also cause digestive problems.
In particular, medications that reduce acid levels in the gut (proton pump inhibitors e.g., Nexium, Zoton, Losec, Pariet) and over-the-counter antacids are major culprits.
• Parasites and other pathogens: Many people can contract certain parasites and other intestinal pathogens which can cause havoc on the digestive and immune system and can have ramifications throughout the whole body.
• Digestive enzyme deficiencies: In order for our body to digest food, it requires a range of digestive enzymes. For many people with digestive problems, digestive enzyme levels may be deficient, resulting in poor digestion.
For example, a common enzyme that is lacking for many people is the enzyme lactase which is required to absorb lactose in milk. This results in ‘lactose intolerance’. However, there are other enzymes required to break down fats, proteins and starches and when lacking will affect our digestive system and ability to absorb crucial nutrients.
• Stomach acid problems: Stomach acid (hydrochloric acid – HCl) is excreted by specialised cells to help our body digest proteins and minerals and sterilise foods. For many people, levels of HCl can be low resulting in poor protein absorption.
Protein provides us with amino acids which are the building blocks of brain neurotransmitters important for mood (serotonin, dopamine).
Heartburn is a symptom experienced by many people and it is commonly believed that it is caused by too much stomach acid. However, for at least 50 percent of people suffering from heartburn, it is actually caused by not enough stomach acid.
As a result of stomach acid deficiency, food remains in the stomach for too long which leads to heartburn. The irony of the situation is that antacids are then used to reduce stomach acid and symptoms of heartburn, and while effective in the short term in reducing heartburn, in the long run prolonged use of antacids further exacerbates digestive problems.
• Bacterial imbalances (dysbiosis): Our digestive system contains billions of bacteria (gut flora) that have many crucial roles in our body including pathogen defence, digestion, and synthesis of vitamins. There are many species of gut flora and when in healthy balance work in harmony.
However, when imbalances, deficiencies or overgrowth in certain species of bacteria occur, digestive problems result. Dysbiosis is also associated with yeast overgrowth (often termed Candida). This bacterial imbalance is termed dysbiosis and can be caused by intestinal microbes, ageing, diet, drugs (especially antibiotics and proton pump inhibitors) and stress. To optimise digestive health and therefore, one’s mental health, gut flora levels needs to be in balance.
• Intestinal permeability (leaky gut): Our gastrointestinal system has a mucosal barrier that protects our internal system (heart, lungs, brain) from ‘outside world’ pathogens. This mucosal barrier consists of tightly joined cells (tight junctions) that allow certain nutrients to be absorbed.
When a disruption in these tight junctions occur, many dietary and bacterial substances and other toxic by-products can get ‘leaked’ into the bloodstream leading to an ‘immune reaction’ causing an array of symptoms, some of them mental.
Leaky gut can be caused by poor diet, NSAIDs, food intolerances/ allergies, medications, Coeliac disease, Crohn’s disease, stress, aging, excessive alcohol use, malnutrition and many more.
• Excessive, prolonged stress: Research shows that stress can have a negative effect on our digestive system and can impair rates of healing. Excess stress can also lead to poor lifestyle and dietary habits (increased sugar consumption, alcohol use) that can exacerbate digestive problems. A cycle then develops where digestive problems exacerbate stress. This increased stress then further worsens digestive problems, continuing the cycle.
Health Begins in the Intestinal Tract
Your intestinal tract is the source of all nutrient access to your body. If it isn’t working properly, you have two major problems. First, you have a hard time digesting food–breaking it down sufficiently so that your body can use it. And then, even if you can digest it properly, if the intestinal wall is covered with hardened mucous and/or colonies of hostile bacteria, you’ll end up absorbing only a fraction of the nutritional value of the food you eat.
In addition, the colon is the main elimination channel of the body. It is the means by which we eliminate the toxic waste of the digestive process, including massive amounts of E. coli bacteria. If that waste hangs around longer than necessary, its impact on the body is profound.
The important point to remember here is that you can’t even begin to cleanse and repair the other systems in the body until you clean out the colon so that the toxic material will have a path out of the body.
Physically, the colon is not designed to store large amounts of old faecal matter. If you have extra garbage in there, there’s only one thing that can happen; the colon must distend and expand. This causes the walls of the colon to thin out (like blowing up a balloon more and more). As the walls extend out, they press on and compress other organs in the abdominal cavity.
Ways to Cleanse the Intestines
In order to clean and detoxify the colon, it is mandatory that you address multiple key areas.
• Help bring the colon back to life by stimulating the muscle movement of the colon, encouraging matter to move forward through the system and halting putrefaction.
• Draw old mucoid plaque and fecal matter off the walls of the colon and out of any bowel pockets.
• Disinfect.
• Draw out toxins, leach out heavy metals such as mercury and lead from the intestinal walls, and remove chemicals, and drug residues.
• Soothe and promote the healing of the mucous membrane lining the entire digestive tract.
• Help stimulate the body to begin the healing and repair of herniated areas.
• Increase the flow of bile to help clean out the gallbladder, bile ducts, and liver.
• Optimize the growth of beneficial bacteria, which are a fundamental component of intestinal health.
• Destroy and expel parasites and inhibit Candida albicans overgrowth.
• Maintain regularity.
• Decrease straining.
• Speed up the transit time of faeces through the large intestine.
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