Tips for Staying Sharp: Your Gut and Your Mental Health

Have ever experienced butterflies before a big presentation, or before a first date? If you have, you’ve clearly felt that mental anxiety can physically affect your gut. We are just now beginning to realize this connection between the brain and the gut. Your gut houses over 70% of your immune system, so if your GI system is inflamed or irritated, much more of your body systems can suffer. Inflammation is defined as “The response of tissue to injury or infection. Pain, heat, redness, and swelling are the four basic symptoms of inflammation.” (2) Irritants can enter your system, causing allergic reactions, leading to inflammation. Sugar, endocrine disrupting chemicals and maybe the most deadly – stress, can cause inflammation.

The gut-brain connection is an emerging science, with much of the results to date indicating that a tremendous amount of your health (and happiness) depends on the amount of healthy bacteria living in your gut. These bacterial strains are responsible for fighting illness and proper digestion and assimilation of nutrients. Some data found by the American Gut Project indicates that people who eat a greater variety of plants on a weekly basis (25+) have healthier gut bacteria compared to those who eat less than 10.

Here are 6 tips to keeping your mind sharp and your gut happy:

1. Eat healthy fats:

Your brain loves fat! In fact, fat makes up over 70% of your brain. Healthy fats are used for the production of many hormones and neuro-chemicals, and play a key role in decreasing inflammation and LDL cholesterol levels. Healthy fat sources, include: fish (salmon, mackerel, herring, anchovies) avocados, nuts and seeds (chia, flax, hemp), olive oil, ghee, and coconut oil. Coconut oil is a very special kind of fat that can be used as a direct source of energy for the cells, making this fat easy to burn off. This oil contains keytones, a secondary source of energy that your brain can use as fuel. This is key for conditions such as Alzheimer’s, which has recently been coined as ‘diabetes of the mind’.

2. Probiotics:

Renowned psychiatrist Dr. Kelly Brogan and other like-minded women’s health experts have begun prescribing a whole-foods diet, rich in probiotics to help people with anxiety, depression and other mental illness. Increasing fermented foods in your diet that are naturally rich in friendly gut bacteria is a good start. Include: yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, tempeh, and warming miso soup.

3. Vitamin D:

This fat-soluble vitamin is critical for optimal immune function. Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with mental illness as well as decrease in cognitive function. In Canada, supplementing during the winter months is an absolute necessity to maintaining healthy immune and brain function. 1000-4000 IU per day is recommended.

4. Protein:

Getting a balance of all essential amino acids in conjunction with healthy gut bacteria (probiotics) help the body to synthesize neurotransmitters like GABA (feel relaxed), dopamine (feel good) and serotonin (feel happy). Great sources of protein include: beans and legumes, nuts, seeds, organic, free-range poultry, and wild-fish.

5. Inulin (Prebitoics):

This soluble fiber is food for your bacteria, also called prebiotics. Sources of inulin include: garlic, onions, leeks, Jerusalem artichokes, bananas and asparagus.

6. Meditation:

Stress is definitely a major player in the gut-brain connection. Stress and anxiety causes tense muscles, altered bowel function, increasing inflammation, tension, and overall pain. When this inflammation is left unattended to, it can evolve into a more serious physiological change. Even short sessions of meditation and conscious breathing can lower your blood pressure and help relieve tension in your gut, and increase digestive function.

When you focus on eating real, whole, living foods and drinking plenty of water you are working to nourish your body AND decreasing inflammation, which is great for mental health. Many vegetables, some fruits and especially freshly squeezed lemon water create and ‘alkaline ash’ in your body. Once metabolized, these minerals are used to maintain the slightly alkaline levels of your blood pH. An excerpt from The Simplicity Project sums it up best “the level of acidity in your body directly affects and impacts your overall health, including energy, digestion, weight and skin—as well as your risk for serious diseases such as cancer, osteoporosis, heart and stroke disease, and obesity.” Maintaining a balance of alkalizing minerals in your diet helps to decrease overall inflammation.

Resources:

1. Kelly Brogan, MD, Gut to Brain Inflammation Connection, http://kellybroganmd.com/article/from-gut-to-brain-the-inflammation-connection/, 03/21/15

2. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/inflammation, 03/21/15

3. Aviva Romm, ND, How to put a fork in antibiotic resistance, http://avivaromm.com/antibiotic-resistance, 03/21/15

4. Joseph Hooper, Your antidepressant goes remarkably well with blueberries, Prevention Magazine, March 2015

5. Jenn Pike, The Simplicity Project: A simple no-nonsense approach to losing weight and changing your body forever!, I C Publishing, 2013

 

Posted in Nutrition, Well Being