What do you do when your mood is off or you’re stressed to the max?

Eat ice cream? Binge watch Netflix? Call your bestie?

After reading this article, you may consider a bowl of miso soup, a handful of walnuts, or maybe even some dark chocolate as your go-to mood-boosters and stress-busters.

There are so many new studies coming out now on the importance of our probiotics (healthy bacteria) and it’s impact not only on our guts, but even on our minds!

Today, we’ll unpack some of the exciting (and preliminary) new research about the link between your gut health and moods/stress.

We’ll talk about your friendly resident gut microbes (mostly bacteria), probiotic foods and supplements, as well as foods to feed those gut microbes and probiotics (aka “prebiotics”).

What the heck are “gut microbes”?

My #1 priority when it comes to health is a healthy gut. If our gut isn’t happy, nothing will be happy. Not our immune system, not our digestion obviously, but most importantly our mood will also most likely not be happy either!

Our gut microbes (aka bacteria) are the trillions of microbes that happily live in our gut. They help us by digesting foods, making vitamins, and even protecting us from the not-so-friendly microbes that may get in there.

Believe it or not, these friendly microbes have mood-boosting and stress-busting functions too!

FUN FACT: There are more microbes inside our gut, than all of the human cells that make us. Yup, we’re more than half microbe! So, how can they NOT impact our health?

It’s a hotbed of research right now and we’re finding out more about their awesome health, and mood/stress, benefits every day.

And, while the research is just starting to figure out the many gut microbe-brain connections, it’s such a

cool new topic that I couldn’t wait to share it with you!

Gut Microbes and Probiotics 

The microbes that live in our guts are known as our “gut microbiota”.

The microbes that we can ingest are known as “probiotics”.

“Probiotics” are live organisms that you can eat, drink, or take as a supplement. They’re what turn milk into yogurt, and cabbage into sauerkraut; and they are great for both your gut health and mental health.

Special probiotics that have mental health benefits are called “psychobiotics,” (psycho = mental health, and biotics = live). They’re live organisms that can benefit our psyche.

So, what’s the link between gut microbes, probiotics, and moods/stress?

Bad moods/stress can mean bad microbes

Stress can affect our friendly gut microbes.

Several studies show that stressed rodents not only have increased stress hormones and stressed behaviours; but, they also have different gut microbes!

And this has been studied, to a small extent, in people too.

One study showed that moms with high levels of stress hormones during pregnancy had infants with more of the “bad” gut microbes.

But, can it work the other way around? Can changing our gut microbes affect our moods and stress responses?

Studies of rodents that grow up without any gut microbes at all (in a “bacteria-free” environment) have a higher stress response than mice with normal gut microbes. Then, when they’re given either a probiotic or gut microbes from non-stressed mice, their stress responses often go back to normal.

Pretty interesting!!

Bad microbes can mean bad moods

“Gut microbiota and probiotics alter behavior and brain neurochemistry.” (Ait-Belgnaoui, et. al., 2012)

That’s a pretty powerful statement!

Many animal studies show positive effects on behaviour when they get probiotic supplements.

For example, after a probiotic, stressed rats had lower levels of both stress hormones and an inflammatory molecule associated with depression (“LPS” – lipopolysaccharide).

Human studies show that after a few weeks of taking probiotic foods or supplements, healthy people have reduced stress hormones, feelings of stress, negative thoughts, and sad moods.

One fascinating study showed that when people took probiotics, brain MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) tests showed reduced brain activity for negative and aggressive thoughts!

So, as you can see, there is some exciting research on the positive effect that probiotics can have on moods and stress.

You might be wondering how exactly your gut can influence your moods…

How is the Gut-Brain Connection possible?

Although traditionally we don’t look at the body as a whole but as our individual parts: the heart, the brain, the lungs, etc. so understanding this connection may not seem obvious. Although as a Holistic Nutritionist looking at the body as a whole: mind, body, and spirit is exactly what I do!

Our body is interconnected in many ways. And more and more research is figuring out the “microbiota-gut-brain axis.” It’s the very complex connection between your gut, its microbes, and your brain.

This new field has been called a “paradigm shift in neuroscience” (Dinan, 2017).

In fact, there are a number of ways that we’re beginning to understand how our gut microbes can affect our brain.

One is via the “vagus” nerve, which is a nerve that directly connects your gut to your brain.

The other ways are through “biochemical messengers.” Biochemicals that are made in your gut and travel through the body to communicate with other parts, including your brain. Biochemicals like short chain fatty acids, cytokines, and even tryptophan (the amino acid that the neurotransmitters melatonin and serotonin are made from).

FUN FACT: Did you know that it’s estimated that 90% of our serotonin (know as our happy hormone) is produced in our gut!

The exciting thing is that this may help us with not only moods and stress, but the microbiota-gut-brain axis may one day prove to be helpful for other conditions like autism and Parkinson’s.

So, your trillions of gut microbes seem to be more closely interconnected with our moods than we used to think.

So, what can you do to nurture your own healthy gut microbes?

How to nurture healthy gut microbes

Before I talk about the nutrition and supplementation side of nurturing your gut, the absolute #1 thing you must do before you can even begin to affect a significant and positive change in your gut flora is to ensure that any overgrowth of bad bacteria (like candida) or any parasites are eliminated. Doing a digestive cleanse like my 30-day Candida Crush is ideal.

The majority of my clients come to see me due to digestive issues and I would estimate that 99% of them have an intolerance to probiotics.

Yup, you heard me right! An intolerance to the good bacteria that is supposed to be managing your digestive system and ultimately your entire health.

This is why my 30-Day Candida Crush Cleanse is so successful is because one of the steps in healing is using the BIE Process to help the body recognize the good bacteria so that it can actually start repopulating our gut flora and really heal!

For more information on my cleanse, click HERE.

Nurturing your gut microbes: Probiotics

First, eat (and drink) probiotics.

Probiotics can be eaten in yogurt (if you don’t have an issue with dairy – natural and organic types), sauerkraut (and other fermented veggies), miso, tempeh, and kimchi. You can drink them in kefir or kombucha. Be sure to choose unpasteurized ones that will be refrigerated in your local grocer.

As you can see, the list of probiotic rich foods isn’t extensive. And if you’re intolerant to dairy in any way, the list becomes much shorter and not full of foods that you would probably normally find in your fridge. For this reason, many people turn to supplementation.

Of course, there are a number of probiotic supplements available and the search can be stressful. Look for one that’s refrigerated and has at least 10 billion active cultures. I also suggest you look for one that has been “third party tested,” which means someone outside the company has tested it and says it’s a quality product.

The probiotics with the most research are of the Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus types. But we still don’t know enough about the psychobiotic effects to make specific mood-boosting recommendations…just yet.

I personally recommend the HMF line from Genestra. These probiotics are made of “human-micro-flora” strains as opposed to cow strains which I find to be much more transient in our system. The HMF line helps your body truly nurture your own flora so that you don’t have to become dependent on probiotics.

And of course everyone’s biochemistry is different so some people will get better results with various brands and different bacterial strains. My go to for daily maintenance is the HMF Multi for it contains 16 different strains so your body can choose the ones it’s missing.

[I’m not endorsed by Genestra, although I do sell their products in my office and I’m a personal fan!] 😊

Nurturing your gut microbes: Prebiotics

Second, consider that our resident gut microbes don’t just live inside us to help us – they get something out of the deal too, FOOD!

PREbiotics are “compounds that, when fermented in the gut, produce specific changes in bacterial composition or activity”. They are your friendly gut microbes’ favourite delicacies so they’ll happily grow, and multiply.

Prebiotics are basically foods that contain fibre. Things like fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. Even dark chocolate (preferably with at least 70% cocoa).

Giving animals prebiotics can reduce stress hormones, and anxiety-related behaviours.

And in people, studies show that taking psychobiotics along with prebiotics can improve both the microbes in our gut, as well as our mood.

How amazing is that?

Not sure how to tell if your gut flora is healthy? Analyzing our poop is the best way to tell! I put together an in-depth breakdown of each type of stool, what it could mean, and how to correct it. 

Conclusion

The science behind interactions of gut microbes and mental health is still new and ongoing. Much of it is in rodents, with a few studies in people. Some show interesting links and promising potential to help with moods and other areas of mental and brain health.

More research, especially in humans, is needed; so I’ll be on the lookout for new studies in this young and promising area of mood-boosting and stress-busting nutrition.

I look forward to the day where we’re helping mental health is first addressed by fixing gut health! What an amazing, and less moody, world that could be!

So, in order to keep your gut and mind healthy, try eating more probiotics like in yogurt, kefir, miso, kimchi, and kombucha. Consider taking probiotic supplements (making sure you read the label and follow directions).

And don’t forget their favourite foods called prebiotics. Those are in fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds (and even dark chocolate).

If you’re still struggling with your moods and managing stress, let me know. There could be other factors that you need to look at like a gut infection, neurotransmitter imbalance, food intolerances, or even suppressed emotions that you’re not aware of that are affecting your health. Sign up for my free 30 min consultation and get your Whole Body Health Profile to see what underlying problem could be affecting you.

Optimize your gut for more than just gut health, but mood-boosting and stress-busting too.

Buh bye blah moods.

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