Gut-brain axis: Is your gut microbiome is affecting your mental health?

The internet is obsessed with gut health. And whilst swathes of research point to how the gut helps the body, we are looking at how it helps the mind.

Here’s where the gut-brain axis comes into play. This axis refers to a two-way communication between the gastrointestinal tract—the gut—and the central nervous system—the brain. 

Often, health and wellness influencers promote how their gut health recipes and lifestyle help their bodies function. But now, the discourse is shifting to how our gut helps brain function. Fibre, probiotics, prebiotics, fermented foods, and polyphenol-rich plant foods can benefit the gut microbiome and, in turn, our brain health. 

On TikTok, @docamen says, “If your guts not right, then your brain is not going to be right!”. Comments share experiences of their gut health, exemplary in the top reply of: ”My anxiousness has come down to much since working on my gut with natural supplements with high-quality ingredients!”

Others, such as @naturalblondi_, flip this theory on its head, taking the brain-to-gut route instead. She talks about how regulating her nervous system helped with digestion and overall health, referencing how calming the “nervous system has been crucial on my gut and hormone healing journey.” One commenter asks, “Do you recommend trying to fix this first, or trying to heal your gut?”. Summarising the gut-brain axis’ symbiotic relationship, she replies, saying, “For me, I think doing the two in combination is the key to best results. Getting the body into a state of safety first and foremost will allow your gut healing protocol to actually work!”

This is something that a lot of online users, both commenters and content creators alike, are talking about. The gut healing journey spans different time lengths, a variety of recipes and nutritional advice, and forms of exercise. Whilst this is all valid and an important part of gut healing, nearly all the content points to the physical ways to do this. 

And in a wider view, some of this can be a difficult feat on the gut healing journey. It costs a lot of money to integrate fermented foods, probiotics, prebiotics, and fibre into the diet (see the top comment on any TikTok video); it takes time to shift to a place where this is part of your lifestyle; and sometimes when suffering with things like anxiety or depression in your mental health, can just seem like a huge endeavour in itself. 

So why is nobody talking about the free, calming, at-home way you can begin to heal your gut? With mindfulness exercises to slow down your nervous system and calm the brain, the paths between our mental health and physical health grow stronger. Healing the gut and encouraging our brain health work both ways. 

The communication between our brain and gut focuses on the vagus nerve, signalling chemicals like neurotransmitters and hormones. Through bidirectional (something that goes both ways) communication, external factors like stress can affect digestion, and similarly gut microbiome being out of sync can affect mood. The vagus nerve, which is the longest cranial nerve controlling bodily functions like digestion, heart rate, and breathing, can influence neural communication. 

What many don’t know is that serotonin – our happy hormone – is produced in both the gut and the brain. The trillions of microorganisms in the gut are recognised as key players for overall health, meaning the gut-brain axis can cause various mood changes. Research from the National Institute of Health shows that gut health can cause issues like IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), anxiety, and depression. 

The brain, responsible for the fight or flight response, can slow down digestion, and the gut microbiota, which are the range of microorganisms found in us, can affect the immune and nervous system. As both play in a symbiotic relationship with each other, we can utilise gut health through therapeutic applications, encouraging our brain to begin to slow down and respond accordingly. 

So, as gut health and the aforementioned healing journey grow in topic of conversation, it’s time we encourage the discourse of the gut-brain axis too. As with the gut microbiome being unique to each body, we know mental health is too. We recommend finding out what works for you by speaking to a trained therapist to find techniques that can help you work on calming the nervous system. 

In the meantime, mindfulness exercises such as meditation, breathwork, and yoga can help to start this journey. With the topic of gut-brain axis making its way through the digital wellness realm, it reminds us that our body and mind are a holistic organism, and we should take a balanced approach to healing both.