How Poor Gut Health Can Increase Anxiety and Depression Risk & What to Eat to Help

October 12, 2024 | Source: Eating Well | by Karla Walsh

Have you ever wondered why you get that feeling of butterflies in your stomach when you see your crush? Or why your stomach feels like it’s in knots when you have to do something you’re not confident about—or when you think you’re in trouble for doing (or not doing) something?

“Stress can play a major role in tummy troubles, even initiating symptoms when there are no changes in diet,” explains Desiree Nielsen, RD, a Vancouver, Canada-based registered dietitian and the author of Good for Your Gut.

There is a conversation that takes place between your brain and gut that is bi-directional, meaning that they both talk to each other, according to a 2023 review in Nutrients1. The “telephone line” along which this conversation takes place is called the gut-brain axis. One of the major players in the gut-brain axis is the vagus nerve, which has about 90% of its nerve endings in the gut. The vagus nerve starts in the brain and wanders down the body, touching nearly every major organ. It’s what you want to stimulate when you’re stressed out because it helps calm and slow the heart rate, breathing and gut.

Read on to learn more about the extensive conversation between your gut and your brain, how less-than-stellar gut health can impact your mood, and the best foods to feed your brain and good gut bacteria all at once.

The Gut-Brain Axis and Mental Health

When most of us think of our nervous system, we think of our brain and spinal cord; however, the digestive tract has a complex nervous system of its own. The enteric (intestinal) nervous system—often referred to as our second brain—has about the same number of nerve cells as our spinal cord (some experts argue it has more). Those nerves come into play when we eat a meal. Stretch receptors in our stomach activate and relay messages to the brain that we are getting full.

It’s not only nerves that play a role here, though. Our gut microbiota, the trillions-strong bacterial population that lives within our guts, is another major factor in the gut-brain connection.