HEALTHY MIND. HEALTHY GUT. AND VICE VERSA
Have you noticed when your stressed or when anxious about something your digestion goes out the window?
You aren’t alone. So many of my clients present with this same scenario..but did you know that it also works the other way? When your digestion is not working optimally then your mental health is also impaired to some degree.
Lets start from the start.
The enteric nervous system (ENS) is a great place to start.
The ENS is a branch of the autonomic nervous system which has many neurons innervating the small intestine and the rest of the digestive tract.
The Enteric Nervous System (ENS) is responsible for:
Moving food through the digestive tract
Production of neurotransmitters (messengers for your brain)
Absorption of nutrients
Effective protection against potentially harmful toxins
This concept is known as the BRAIN-GUT AXIS in the naturopathy world. And is one of the most common presentations that I see in clinic.
When this system is disrupted you can see how your digestion will suffer. Because everyone is different no two presentations are the same. For you it might be bloating and constipation where as someone else it may be the complete opposite.
WAYS TO REDUCE THE EFFECT OF STRESS ON YOUR DIGESTION
Relax when you are eating and practice mindful eating. Taking the time to smell and speciate your food will help relax your mind as well as activating your digestive processes.
Chew chew chew! It sounds simple but a lot of people aren’t doing this! If you aren’t breaking your food down in your mouth then how do you expect your body to catch up as the digestive process continues?
Waking after your meal. After your biggest meal of the day it is beneficial to go for a light walk. This again will help to relax your mind as well as activating your digestion.
Going back to the point about the ENS helping to produce neurotransmitters is how we can explain the gastrointestinal role in mental health. There are many neurotransmitters and all have specific actions such a induing sleep, mood regualtion, emotions, concenration, memory and learning. When these neurotransmitters are not in adequate supply that is when our mental health suffers.
Eating a healthy balanced diet, minimal medication use, minimal alcohol and caffeine consumption will all help to maintain a healthy gut and will help to regular this neurotransmitter production.
Taking a probiotic supplement daily will also help maintain good gut health.
While this is just a brief overview, I have outlined how important good digestion is to minting good mental health, and vice versa. Seeing your naturopath for a more comprehensive overview is vital as well, as i mentioned everyone presents differently so there is no one treatment fits all.
So relax while you eat and reap the rewards.
Karah xx
