Get to know your gut: The Mind Gut Connection

Image courtesy of Alicia Harper, ProbioticReviewGirl.com 

Let’s talk about the mind gut connection, also known as the gut-brain-axis . Before now, you might have thought that the gut and the brain haven’t got much to do with each other, but it’s time to think again, because the gut-brain-axis has a huge effect on your health. Like the two naughty kids in class, your brain talks to your gut all the time. And they’re not just passing cheeky notes, they’re using all sorts of communication.

How are the brain and gut connected?

There’s something called the Vagus Nerve that connects them – a direct connection that takes messages from one to the other within milliseconds. There’s also neurochemical signalling – these are the messages that tell you how you feel…hungry, sick, happy, angry…you can thank neurochemicals for those. Did you know that over 90% of the feel-good hormone serotonin is made in your gut?

And if that’s not enough, there’s even the Hypothalamic Pituitary Axis, the response centre for stress. So, you see the gut and the brain are always talking. But what does that really mean?

How does our mood affect our gut health?

Our mental health and general mood – positive or negative can influence what’s happening in our gut. For example, when you’re worried or experiencing sudden feelings of anxiety the hormone cortisol is released – this whizzes straight down the Hypothalamic Pituitary axis, kicks off the neurochemicals and sends out alerts along the Vagus nerve. In other words, you feel stressed, but the gut reacts to that in many ways. It will slow digestion, affect your immune system and create changes in the microbiome.

So, we know we need to avoid stress, but life’s not that simple. Stress is inevitable, but it’s how we cope with it that matters. That’s why it makes sense to eat a balanced diet, to incorporate probiotic-rich food and drinks such as kefir, yoghurt, garlic, asparagus, and you guessed it – kombucha, and to take control of our wellbeing – the trinity of Equinox Kombucha. Healthy mind, healthy gut, healthy body.

Image courtesy of The Gut Stuff.