Neurotransmitters (which control mood and depression) can be found in the greatest concentrations in the intestines, not the brain, which leads researchers to believe that because your brain and gut influence each other, eating healthy is strongly linked to your overall mental health.
One study of interest that showed how diet and food intake, along with emotions and hunger, interplays between stomach and brain. The study, done in Belgium, showed in MRI’s that more areas of the brain lit up after an infusion of fatty acids (during the viewing and listening to sad music and neutral faces) with a result of the person’s mood being lifted. The subjects that received a placebo remained sad.
Eating Cleaner and Healthier
Our modern life, with its wide assortment of antibacterial products, is making our world cleaner, but not necessarily healthier. In fact a lot of the times, the “good” bacteria found in foods, goes missing in the manufacturing process.
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It’s also pretty popular knowledge that sugar and junk food cause bad bacteria to thrive. Eating a lot of processed foods compromises the bacteria in the digestive system by destroying all of the healthy micro flora. By this same theory, too much exposure to antibiotics and all of the anti-bacterial products out there contribute to the imbalance and the need to replenish with good bacteria. Experts say the ideal ratio of good to bad bacteria in the gut should be 85% to 15% in order to have good disease protection and digestion.
The Healthy Mind/Stomach Theory
Doctors are under the impression that treating gut pain is more or less a simple task. And most will agree that taking the correct supplements, and eating the correct diet, can make the problem go away for awhile, at least. And part of that, according to research studies, is making sure that you stay in tune to what your digestive system is telling you. Nipping a point of anxiety in the bud could save you months of digestive agony!
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