Your Belly Influences Your Mood
The gut is wise and works with the brain to maintain health. Taking care of it by balancing the microbiota is essential to prevent and treat emotional disorders.
When falling ill, with a gastroenteritis, for example, we feel bad, even wanting to cry. If we are hungry, our mood can be doggy.
In the case of intestinal diseases, this relationship between feelings and the digestive system is even more evident. People with irritable bowel syndrome or Crohn’s disease are known to suffer from anxiety or depression more often.
And there is no doubt that our mood is influenced by what happens in the belly.
Calming the gut for the sake of your mental health
Relaxation techniques, a little sport or meditation are excellent allies to reduce stress levels and prevent the brain from taking energy from the intestine.
Another good option in times, for example, of a lot of work or exams, is to pamper our intestines by giving it extra doses of prebiotic and probiotic foods. This tip is about caring for our community of gut bacteria, the so-called microbiota (formerly known as gut flora), which plays an essential role in digestive function and overall health.
Taking care of the microbiota is the key
If we weighed all the microorganisms that live in the intestine, they could reach 2 kg. To get an idea of the enormous amount of these “micro occupiers” that live in us, it is worth saying that a single gram of feces contains more bacteria than there are human beings on Earth.
These bacteria have been useful travel companions throughout thousands of years of evolution. Most live in the large intestine and are responsible for performing essential functions for our health.
To begin with, they feed on food that has not been digested in the small intestine. In return, they help absorb nutrients that would otherwise have been lost, such as calcium.
They also break down and get rid of toxic substances and drugs. And they synthesize extra doses of fatty acids and vitamins K, B12, B1 and B2, essential for blood clotting, to strengthen the nerves and to obtain energy from food.
The effects of an altered microbiota
If we take care of bacteria, they take care of us.
On the other hand, if our bacteria have a problem, so do we.
” Obese people, for example, tend to have less microbial diversity than thin healthy people. This different microbiota profile is also related to other diseases, such as diabetes,” says Giulia Enders, author of Digestion is the question .
It has even been seen that when this community of microorganisms becomes unbalanced and one type of bacteria begins to predominate and others disappear, the appearance of disorders such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and even some types of autism can be favored .
To have good health, it is essential to enjoy a microbiota with a varied composition.
The more diversity of bacteria, the better
There are hundreds of investigations underway to determine the effects of each species of bacteria and how to stimulate the growth of the most beneficial ones. The potential of some strains of bacteria in the treatment of digestive dysfunctions, pain or mental imbalances is even being studied .
For now, it is known that the diversity and well-being of the microbiota is favored with a diet rich in plant foods. The consumption of probiotics has also shown a beneficial effect.
On the other hand, lifestyle is important: physical exercise and relaxation are good for intestinal bacteria, while stress, antibiotics and many medications threaten its balance.
