It is no brainer that what we eat has considerable impact on our mood & behavior. Remember last time when you were stressed & depressed, you reached out to grab your favorite chocolate/dessert. The food we eat directly influences the chemical messenger in our brain that controls our mood. However, what we forget is that this communication is a 2 way lane.
The bi-directional relationship between the brain & our second brain( although it is the first brain), the gut brain axis drives our mood/behavior & eating pattern. When the signals between these two body organs cross or there is miscommunication, it can lead to various symptoms that can take the form of mental health conditions/disorders.
Although we still rely on psychiatric counseling & therapies to manage our mental health conditions, studies on gut-brain axis have proved that in order to overcome mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, nutrition that agrees with an individual’s unique biology should supplement these traditional means of mental health management.
Personalising food as medicine is helping a large lot of people to overcome their mental challenges.
There are a number of foods that can boost your serotonin, reduce your stress levels & improve your satiety. However there is nothing called a standard list of foods for improving our mental health. Human biology science has a large say when it comes to mental health.
The chemical messengers produced by our brain that improves our mood or reduces our stress level does not depend as much on food we enjoy but more on the state of our gut health & how our body is functioning. In other words, the source of chemical messengers does not matter as much as biological functions taking place inside our body.
Adopting dietary choices that balances our gut microbiome goes a long way in improving our mood & behavior. Let us discuss how our dietary choices impact various production of neurotransmitters /chemical messengers:
- Serotonin: Serotonin, also called our mood hormone, regulates our mood, behaviour & happiness. 95% of this hormone is produced by our gut not by the brain. As such people having depression &/or mood disorders also suffer from digestive issues, bloating & constipation
2. Dopamine: This hormone helps us plan & remember & is also said to help us experience pleasure. People who have disrupted dopamine production fail to experience pleasure from things they love & have failed memory. Scientists have found that 50% of Dopamine is produced in the digestive tract by neurons that link gut & brain via enteric nervous system. When you gut microbiome is imbalanced, it can lead to situations of Leaky gut which can impact the health of our intestinal cells & disrupt how much Dopamine is produced. Strengthening our intestinal barrier through choosing the right food that promotes beneficial microbial activities can optimise dopamine production.
3. Norepinephrine: This neurotransmitter functions along with adrenaline, which helps the mind have focus during a fight or flight response. Low level of this neurotransmitter is said to play a role in mental disorders such as depression. On the flipside, high levels of norepinephrine can lead to anxiety attacks & prevents us from focussing. The production of this neurotransmitter is regulated by various gut bacteria & many pathogens can exploit norepinephrine for their benefit. Given that there is a close relationship between norepinephrine & gut, gut dysbiosis can cause various mental health symptoms.
4. Melatonin: People who suffer from depression or anxiety also experience disruption in sleeping patterns. Erratic sleep patterns & restlessness in sleep are common symptoms that manifest with mental health disorders such as depression & anxiety. In Fact our sleep hormone- Melatonin is linked with imbalance in our gut microbiome. Production of this hormone depends upon our natural circadian rhythm. Our gut microbiome plays an important role in maintaining homeostasis of our sleep-wake cycle & can cause disruption in melatonin production, impacting your sleep.
Out gut-brain communication is impacted by our dietary choices has a larger role to play in regulating these neurotransmitters- either directly impacting the production or impacting their ability to interact with the brain.
Our gut microbiome has a much larger role to play in key areas of health. In case you are facing bloating issues, experiencing erratic sleep patterns or finding it difficult to concentrate & focus, gut dysbiosis caused by wrong dietary choices is playing a spoilsport. There is nothing called a universal diet to cure mental health issues. Shift from trial & error approach to a personalizing food as medicine that marries your unique biology. Learn here how can regulate gut-brain interaction here.
