The link between your Gut and Mood

And tips on how to improve both

I don’t know about you but I often feel my mood and mind set drop after the highs of Christmas and New years. Winter can feel like it’s dragging on and after the holidays big spends budgets can feel tighter.

For this reason I wanted to give you a few simple, purchase free tips on how to lift your mood naturally.

I did touch on the link between gut health & your mood in my last newsletter, I wanted to share a little more on that in this newsletter. Sometimes when a low mood persists it’s not so much to do with your outer circumstances, rather is could be due to your microbiome (gut bacteria). If you missed my last newsletter and would like a copy, let me know. You can also check out a summary I wrote on the importance of your gut microbiome here.

THE GUT BRAIN LINK

There is a strong connection between the gut and the brain, known as the gut-brain axis. The gut produces neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, that are responsible for regulating mood and emotions. Therefore, an unhealthy gut can lead to imbalances in neurotransmitter production, potentially impacting mental health. Research is showing that improving gut health can help alleviate more severe mood disorders such as anxiety and depression.

In addition, since the gut effects hormones an imbalanced bad vs good gut bacterial quota can also have a knock on effect on your mood.

You may wonder, what tips the scales? Causing an unhealthy gut?

There are many answers to this but overall the main culprits are listed below. Keep in mind, it only becomes detrimental to your gut, when these are part of your daily life over extended periods of time. It’s hard to avoid some of them and if you use some of my tips below you can help outweigh the effects of these inflammatory inducing offenders;

• stress

• overuse of medications such as antibiotics + antacids, processed foods (deli meats, meat cooked at high temperatures, refined sugar, corn syrup, commercial baked goods

• vegetable oils* - canola, rapeseed, soy, corn sunflower, safflower

• fried foods

• hydrogenated olive oil (trans fats)

*Excess consumption of omega-6s can trigger the body to produce pro-inflammatory chemicals

HOW TO SUPPORT YOUR GUT

Ok, I am about to give your a few golden tools to help you rebalance the scales in favour of good gut bacteria.

1.  Fiber - Fiber is the food for your good gut bacteria. Fiber is found in most veg & fruit, so eat more of it. For each meal, mentally tick off if you have added a side of veg. I have an excellent Miso Butter which can make any boring veg taste yummy, reply to this email if you want the recipe. (And no it’s not the same as my Miso Vinaigrette.)

As a side note to those of you who have gas or bloating or indigestion, to certain types of fibers (beans, legumes, cauliflower) - do not avoid these foods, instead build up your tolerance, like mini portions and build it up. The digestive distress you encounter is often is because your gut bacteria that thrive on these foods (each type of bacteria lives of different fibers) has become weak. Work that muscle!

2. 1 tbsp fermented foods per day  - This is going to change the make up of your gut bacteria, crowding out the bad and allowing the good to thrive. The trick is to see it as a your daily probiotic medicine. Fermented foods contain way way more of a diverse and ALIVE bacterial spectrum in comparison to probiotic pills.

Fermented foods are; pickled, olives in brine, capers, cultured butter or dairy (includes plant based), proper artisanal sourdough bread, good quality kombucha, kimchi, natto, fermented soy sauce, raw honey, bee bread, miso, unpastrurised apple cider vinegar, kefir - water or dairy.

3. Re-acess your stress  - Some stress is unavoidable, however, sometimes if we take stock of the various stressors in our life we can reduce some. Take a look at what causes you stress. Perhaps it’s getting organised about getting things “off your to do list”, or looking at how to manage your time, or reducing time with people that trigger stress, or it’s making a plan to tackle something that you have been avoiding, or working on neutrally (not placing blame) expressing emotions that are being repressed.

4. Omega 3 - Is an antidote to inflammation, which is often the result of processed and Omega 6 rich foods and stress. Look into clean omega 3 brands (independently tested for heavy metals), vegans can get algae omega 3. A brand I recommend is Bare Biology.

5. Ghee - is a lactose free food oil used in Ayurveda. It can replace the inflammatory vegetable cooking oils mentioned above. It contains a compound, butyrate, that has anti-inflammatory effects and repairs and enhances barrier function of intestinal epithelial cells.  

NATURAL MOOD ENHANCING

There are many aspects that effect our mood, other than the health of our gut. I’m not sure if you have noticed how much other people can effect your mood, or the quality of your sleep, or even the weather.

But imagine if you could help yourself by becoming more conscious of how to ‘allow’ external factors to influence your mood. I know, so easy to say and so hard to implement. I am trying to practice this myself, some days it works others not. The key is to try to ‘step’ away from your emotions and look at what is really allowing my mood to be effected. See if you can step away from the influencing factor and remind yourself that you have a choice to not get sucked in to the stress, anger, sadness, that this influence is creating in you.

If we are conscious, we can disallow external factors to drag our mood down. Imagine the freedom in that?

Ok so part from this life lesson, what other tools can we use to lift our mood?

1. Daylight - getting exposure to daylight helps your body produce serotonin your happy making hormone.

2. Movement - any form of movement for 15-20min get the body to produce endorfins, which are hormones that alleviate pain, lower stress, improve mood, and enhance your sense of well-being.

3. Nature gazing - Spending time in nature can help relieve stress and anxiety, improve your mood, and boost feelings of happiness and wellbeing.

4. Journal - Putting your thoughts, and emotions down on paper can help release head space and tension and also spark new ideas. It is also an opportunity for positive self-talk and identifying negative thoughts.

5. Herbs & plants - see an overview of plants and herbs that have been used by ancient cultures to enhance mood.

6. Chocolate - yes, this is part of the mood enhancing overview too, but since this really is such a big one I wanted to give it it’s own row. When we eat chocolate the lipid anandamide (from the Sanskrit word "ananda," which means peaceful bliss), causes he production of dopamine. Dopamine is another feel-good chemical. Finally, chocolate releases endorphins into the brain and endorphins make us happy, they also decrease stress and pain levels.

7. Glimmers - things that give your joy, make you feel safe and relaxed (opposite of things that cause stress). Look for and become conscious of anything that brings these emotions. They are already there but most of us don’t notice or account for them (sunshine, a good nights sleep, a compliment, someone holding open the door for you or a bus waiting for you.

   Not to be a ‘Debby downer’, but with everything, moderation is key - also with chocolate. Recently tests on house hold chocolate brands showed exceedingly high rates of heavy metals; lead and cadium. This is often related to the soil that the cacao bean trees grow in.

Last but not least on the subject of mood. I do want to point out that working on improving your mood is worth while because chronic dissatisfaction causes stress (overall strain on the bodies systems) and in the long run speeds up the aging process which can also lead to chronic diseases. My belief is that many chronic diseases are catapulted by and/or rooted in negative emotions.

RECIPE SHARE

I could not leave you without an appropriate mood lifting recipe. This one is so easy, and so satisfying for a chocolate craving. Also gluten and refined sugar free!

Instructions

1. Set your oven to 170C / 338F.

2. In a thick bottomed pan heat the maple syrup, salt, vanilla essence, tahini and chocolate - warm for 2min - until the ingredients have combined. Allow to cool.

3. Now add the almond flour.

4. Using a spoon scoop out the dough and roll into a ball, place on parchment paper on a baking tray and then use a fork to flatten the ball.

5. Sprinkle your choice of topping onto the cookies.

6. Bake in the middle of the oven for +/-10min.

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CLIENT TESTIMONIAL
Stephanie is an incredible resource. She has not only provided lists of healing foods and tonics to address my health issues, but her own book is a wealth of information for my ongoing education about gut health and optimum care for my aging body. I highly recommend her services and look forward to more of her resourceful and creative tips online. - Barbara Von Schreiber