Some 600 years ago, the earliest tiny multicellular organisms were found in Ocean. These tiny organisms were nothing more than floating digestive tubes with nerves wrapped around them. The function of the enteric nervous system (our first brain) was to facilitate proper functioning of the gut, thereby moving food from one end- the mouth, extracting & absorbing nutrients & distributing it to the rest of the body & then flushing the waste/residual from the other end.
However communication within the gut became more complex when some microbes from the ocean decided to find a permanent settlement in this gut developing close communication with nerve cells in the first brain.
As evolution progressed, a unique model of this gut was preserved while living organisms developed a second brain, commonly referred to as the Central Nervous System today.
The signaling molecules developed by our first brain that resided in the gut were incorporated into this new brain which facilitated connection between this brain, gut & its microbes. This formed the basis of unique interactions within the gut brain network that remain functional till date. Some of these interactions formed a small work network within the gut microbiome that facilitated optimal functions of this organ which included secretion, blood flow & food sensing.
A bi-directional relationship exists between gut & brain wherein gut tells the brain when its microbes are hungry or full & brain tells gut when to start the digestion process. This two way communication also plays a role in digestion process, regulation of mood & well being.
Let us explore this bi-directional gut-brain relationship.
Depressive disorder has become one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders. Symptoms of depression include anxiety, mood swings, sadness, thought of hopelessness & suicide. Depression can also be starting point of digestive & other neurodegenerative disorders. Infact mental health issues & digestive issues re-inforce each other. This is the reason why we should focus on optmising our gut health & regulating gut-brain communication.
Depression impacts everyone differently. Some of the symptoms of depression include:
Brain fog, headache, fatigue, mood swings, low self esteem, feeling of helplessness, loss of appetite & binge eating.
As shared in the beginning of the blog, our gut health plays an important role in neural development & function. Infact our gut is the second most complex organ after brain. Cells in our gut has 100 times more genes that cells of human body. As such our gut plays a major role in depression
Imbalance in our gut microbiome can impact our gastrointestinal tract, enteric nervous system, central nervous system & makes our immune system either underactive or overactive. These changes in biochemical responses can alter:
- Gastrointestinal barrier function
- Fat storage & energy balance
- Level of stress, depression & anxiety
- Low grade & systemic inflammation
All the above changes are involved both in digestive & depression & anxiety related disorders.
30 trillion microbes that form part of gut microbiome regulate interact with each other as well as its local environment in balanced manner. This facilitates normal functioning of the body.
These microbes produce a host of signaling molecules including neuroactive, neurotransmitters & short chain fatty acids which all have impact on the communication between gut & brain & as a result our overall mental health. These short chain fatty acids such as Butyrate improves our satiety level, protects our gut lining, thereby upkeeping our mental health.
Our gut lining is held together with tight junctions that allows nutrients to pass from large intestine to bloodstream. However when this barrier is impacted by environmental toxins & wrong dietary choices driven inflammation, this inflammation can overflow to different parts of body including brain that affect the neuronal pathways of our brain. The above-mentioned processes together influence our mood and cognition by acting upon the components of our neural system.
A lot of people diagnosed with depression & anxiety are given antidepressants which stimulates level of serotonin to regulate mood & behavior. These medications makes body metabolise our happiness hormone- serotonin slowly, reflecting that their bodies are experiencing low serotonin production . Given that around 90% of serotonin is produced by our gut, low serotonin production which is making you feel depressed,has lot to do with health of your gut.
Depression is associated with imbalance in gut microbiome(aka gut dysbiosis). Studies have shown role of early life stress in altered gut microbiome. Subtle changes in gut microbome composition & acquisition during early life period is said to root cause of depression & other mental health issues in the adult ife period. This is due to impact of imbalance of gut microbiome on gut-brain communication.
Want to know if you have symptoms related to depression , it is best to decode your gut microbiome composition to learn what is causing inflammation that is being spread to different parts of body & influencing neurological pathways connected to brain.
For more details on how dietary interventions based on insights from your unique gut microbiome can help you overcome depression, anxiety & other mental health issues, give us a shout at www.genefitletics.com.
