Nurture Your Gut-Brain Connection
To get straight to the point: your gut health and brain health are directly connected to each other. They are basically best friends within your body systems, influencing one another through the gut-brain axis. “The gut-brain axis (GBA) consists of bidirectional communication between the central and the enteric nervous system, linking emotional and cognitive centers of the brain with peripheral intestinal functions” (Carabotti M, Scirocco A, Maselli MA, Severi C; 2015).
Basically, if you’ve ever had that “gut feeling” when making a decision, this shows how connected they truly are. Your gut is essentially your second brain. It’s important to listen to it and learn how to trust the signals it’s telling your mind, and vice versa.
It is impossible to cover ALL the material out there on the gut-brain connection, listing out healthy vs. unhealthy foods, mental health symptoms tied with foods we eat, exploring ways supplements can help fill in some of the gaps, the gender differences for hormones and gut issues, and so on and so on. So essentially, I wanted to just break down the basics of what this gut-brain connection really looks like and how you can start taking action today to strengthen that relationship for yourself!
Let’s take a look at a few key body systems involved in the gut-brain axis. These systems send signals back and forth between our brain and our gut, also tying in connections with our hormones and immune system (Cleveland Clinic, 2023).
Enteric Nervous System: This is a neural network that operates within your gastrointestinal (GI) tract and controls its digestive functions. It is a special division of your autonomic nervous system, which is responsible for all the automatic functions of your internal organs (i.e. heart rate, digestion, respiration).
Vagus Nerve: Your vagus nerve is the main link between your enteric nervous system and your brain. It is one of your 12 cranial nerves that travels from your cranium down throughout your body, branching out along the way. The vagus nerve conveys sensory information about the conditions inside your gut from your enteric nervous system to your brain. In response, it conveys motor signals from your brain to your gut.
Gut Microbiome: Gut microbes produce or help to produce many of the chemical neurotransmitters that relay messages between your gut and brain. There is research surfacing in recent years that show how the gut microbiome may be involved in various neurological, mental health and functional gastrointestinal disorders (i.e. IBS or anxiety).
With all of these systems working together, it can unfortunately be more challenging to diagnose certain medical or mental disorders while trying to get to a root cause for effective treatment. And “changing your diet” can feel exhausting when you don’t see improvements for months or even years in some cases. However, what we eat is directly related to how we feel physically and emotionally.
If it feels too overwhelming to entirely change your diet, just start by swapping one thing at a time over several months (i.e. eating carrots instead of chips for something crunchy). You don’t have to start spending insane amounts of money buying organic foods or vegetables, nor reading every label you come across at the grocery store. Starting slow– yet realistic– and creating a plan for yourself is the beginning of restoring a healthy gut-brain connection.
While it’s important to make sure you are eating foods that are good for your gut health and not triggering worse physical symptoms, solely focusing on what you eat or don’t eat will not improve your mental health. The gut-brain connection needs both parts of that connection to work healthily independently.
Become More Aware of the Connection
When we live under chronic stress, have experienced significant trauma, suffered with depression episodes, engage in heavy drinking patterns, or struggle with other mental health concerns, it weakens that main connection. We develop a sense of distrust in ourselves, lack of motivation, or these experiences may even compromise our immune system over time.
Remember, every system within our bodies is connected. So that means one experience today can linger in our body for years to come. This can also be used to your advantage, if you start taking action today by engaging in more mindful behaviors of the foods you are eating and prioritizing your mental health. Setting you up for a healthier future physically and mentally.
Start to notice any unhealthy patterns in your life like binge drinking, stress eating, restrictive eating, no physical movement throughout your day, mood swings, or regular stomach pains to name a few. Work with your therapist or medical professional to discuss options that best support a change that feels achievable.
Also, explore your thought patterns or emotional triggers that may be impacting your gut health. This can include low self-esteem, chronic shame for unhealthy behaviors, low motivation, feeling emotionally stuck in life, or getting frequently agitated or distracted in various situations.
Although these seem very general, they allow you to open up that gut-brain connection within yourself. When you are able to dive deeper into the source of your mental stress, it helps you feel more in control of how you feel physically. You can improve your mental health by improving the quality of what you are ingesting in your body regularly.
Lastly, a few additional ways to improve your gut-brain connection is by:
Taking supplements or eating foods rich in Probiotics and Prebiotics will work to protect the gut microbiome
Getting regular exercise and managing stress to help improve vagus nerve function
Staying focused on sleep hygiene and avoiding excessive alcohol or caffeine consumption to help with overall brain health
Seeking medical attention for any GI issues or underlying health conditions
You don’t have to feel so tired or stressed all the time. You can take back control of your eating habits by being more mindful of how much you are consuming in one sitting, not buying the “bad” stuff while grocery shopping, and planning out weekly meals that work with your lifestyle. Because while we all enjoy eating pizza and ice cream while watching our favorite show on TV, eating these foods in excess is hurting that gut-brain connection, not helping it in the long run.
Feel more in control of your life today. Plan out your meals to make at home or start on a food delivery plan. Move your body and exercise daily for at least 30 minutes. Write down your thoughts and feelings, or talk it out with a friend/partner. Work with a therapist to explore how you can trust yourself more and have accountability.
References:
Cleveland Clinic, “The Gut-Brain Connection”. 2023. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/the-gut-brain-connection
Carabotti M, Scirocco A, Maselli MA, Severi C. The gut-brain axis: interactions between enteric microbiota, central and enteric nervous systems. Ann Gastroenterol. 2015 Apr-Jun;28(2):203-209. PMID: 25830558; PMCID: PMC4367209.
Harvard T.H. Chan, The Nutrition Source: “The Microbiome”. 2025. https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/microbiome/
Sabrina Mörkl, Mary I Butler, Jolana Wagner-Skacel. Gut-brain-crosstalk- the vagus nerve and the microbiota-gut-brain axis in depression. A narrative review, Journal of Affective Disorders Reports, Volume 13, 2023, 100607, ISSN 2666-9153, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadr.2023.100607.
