The Connection Between Gut-Health & Mental Health
Fact: the brain and the gut are interconnected! 🧠 Stress and emotions affect the way our bodies digest food which is why stress management is so crucial for gut health. Your gut and brain are connected and can communicate distress if either is not doing well. A troubled intestine can send signals to the brain, just as a troubled brain can send signals to the gut.
The brain communicates the feelings of sadness, fear, anxiety and others to the gut causing it to react by suppressing appetite, increasing cravings and more. The gut produces 60-90% of neurotransmitters involved in mental wellness and sends signals to the brain via nerves or hormones to indicate hunger and fullness. Most serotonin resides in our gut. Serotonin is a mood stabilizer and regulates sleep, appetite, body temperature, and more.
This is why nurturing your body, and in particular your gut, is so critical for treating and maintaining positive mental health, especially during grief.
One of our main goals has always been to provide various opportunities to heal your body, physically as well as mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. That is the mission behind our nutrition classes such as Love Your Gut Sourdough Class, Fire Cider Workshop, Honey & Health and Build a Better Board Class. If you don’t feel well physically, it’s almost impossible to have hope and a positive outlook for your future.
We want to help you bridge the gap between your gut health and your emotional health…so you can continue your healing journey.
Ways to strengthen your gut-brain connection.
Deep Breathing - Try this video to help guide you.
Yoga - Explore this Yoga/Breathwork video. (you might feel silly, but try it anyway. This guy is well-known.)
-Also really love YOGA WITH ADRIENE.
Meditation - Video to try. (Get comfy)
Cold Shower - even if it’s 10 seconds at the end of your shower. Increase time when you can. Choose your own goals. Read about benefits HERE.
Foods with probiotics - (think fermented foods, kombucha, kimchi, kefir, sauerkraut) Want to know how to start making your own? Click HERE.
Keep caffeine and alcohol to a minimum. There are many coffee-alternatives to choose from that offer additional health benefits such as. Ryze, Rasa, Mudwtr, and Dandy Blend. Definitely stay away from caffeine close to bed.
There are also great alcohol free mocktails to make yourself, if you’re interested. I even found you some recipes HERE.
Avoid refined carbohydrates - Basically anything that says Enriched, or Refined. Those words trick us into thinking they’re good, but they’re actually bad.
Lower your intake of sugar - (it’s in everything! Read your labels.) Don’t fall into the trap of “sugar free” foods. Instead, choose whole foods such as food to feed your sugar cravings. I realize this is a hard sell, because sugar tastes soooo good! I kicked my sugar addiction years ago with the help of my friend Mallory Nowak and her “Restart” class.
Increase your intake of magnesium rich foods - Find an extensive list HERE.
Include protein with every meal- Need help finding more protein? Read this article.
**Make sure you’re getting enough omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, vitamin B and trace minerals. This can be done through supplements and food. Trace minerals can easily be added through salt such as Celtic Sea Salt and Redmond Real Salt. I’ve added some interested articles to watch to convince you about the benefits of these salts. I also add LMNT to my water everyday to keep my hydration maximized with electrolytes without the sugar.
I hope that you have enough information to get you inspired!
Please let me know what you found most helpful and what you plan to try first!
Keep an eye out for more nutrition classes with us! We have big plans for 2024!