Did you know that as much as 95% of your happy hormone serotonin is supplied in your GI tract. This means if your mouth, stomach, oesophagus or intestines is having a bad day, so are you.
The feeling of ‘butterflies’ when we're in love, ‘digesting defeat’, ‘pooping our pants’, are emotions not just from our head but from our gut. The gut commands an entire fleet of signalling substances that the only other organ in the body that could come close to diversity, is the brain. Such a complex system couldn’t surely be just responsible for breaking wind right?
We humans are made up of predominately bacteria, your microbiome. And as with any great novel we have the good guys and the bad guys.
So how do we eliminate the bad guys and keep those happy good guys?
Let's first look at any warning signs.
Gas, Bloating, reflux or heartburn
Cramping in the abdominal
Systemic inflammation, allergies and muscle pain
Stress Control
Anxiety, insecurity and depression
Experiencing any of the symptoms above may be a warning sign that the bad guys are taking over the town. But, GREAT NEWS. It means you can stop worrying that your mental state may not be ok and there are sure ways to give the good guys a grand old boost.
Influencing your microbiome can be influenced by various factors such as:
What we eat
Stress
Pesticides
Antibiotics
Sterile environment level
Learning to balance these factors in your favour will resolve many inflammatory symptoms including mood disorders.
So let's take the good guys for an intervention.
Nutrition and what we eat has a profound impact on feeding either the good or bad bacteria. When we consistently and consistence matters, choose whole foods that contain fibre, protein, good fats and avoid refines sugars, carbohydrates and low fibre. We build our microbiome to promote positive mood and an anti inflammatory state of health.
Yes, it really is as simple as that, don’t underestimate the power of food, for it is what fuels our body. Nutrition alongside a pro active attitude and patience can go along way making peace with the gut brain connection.
Tips to promote the friendship between your gut and brain:
If your see sugar in the first 3 ingredients…..ditch it!
Rid a product that is not a colour found in nature
Forget products that contain high fructose corn syrup
Add pre and pro biotic foods
Add herbs to your food like Oregano, Rosemary, Basil, Ginger, Time, Parsley and Turmeric (not only to impress your microbiome but your family of your upgraded dinner menu)
Implementing these kinds of changes can seem daunting and maybe overwhelming at the start and you may still feel dubious. If you feel you need some extra guidance or knowledge you can call Maria at higher health for a free conversation to answer any questions.
We all deserve to be happy and live rich full filling lives and it simply starts at the end of the fork!
