The Gut-Brain Connection and Tips to Improve Your Gut Health

If you've ever had gut health issues, you know just how terrible and uncomfortable they can be. Conversely, when your gut is thriving, you’re quickly reminded of the crucial role it plays in your overall health well-being—and how much better you feel! I never experienced gut-health problems until a year ago, and wow, it was awful. I’ve known many people who struggle with gut issues, but after facing my own and eventually restoring my gut health by way of a great probiotic, nightly magnesium supplement and stress-reducing practices, I now understand firsthand just how impactful a healthy gut truly is.

In this blog post, I’ll dive into the fascinating brain-gut connection, the best and worst foods for gut health, and practical ways to heal and support your gut so you can feel your best from the inside out. Plus, we just launched our new 30-Day Gut-Health Meal Plan, designed to reduce gut inflammation and restore gut-health with simple gut-friendly meals.

Gut-Brain Connection: The Basics

Ever felt “butterflies in your stomach or ”trusted your gut” about an important decision? You can thank your gut brain connection for that. Your brain and gut talk to each other. Fascinatingly, anytime you get a “gut feeling” or feel a knot in your stomach, you experience this firsthand. This two-way communication is known as the ‘gut-brain connection.' The network of nerves that sends these signals is referred to as the ‘gut-brain axis and how cool is it that God created our system to interact this way?!?

The health of your gut affects your brain and vice versa. For example, people with gut dysbiosis often suffer from depression and anxiety, while people with good gut health are more likely to have a healthy nervous system.

On top of that, people with digestive disorders like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) face an increased risk of depression and anxiety.

Gut-Brain Connection: Key Players

1. The Enteric Nervous System

Your enteric nervous system (ENS) is nicknamed “your second brain.” This neural network of roughly 500 million nerve cells line your digestive tract. It’s part of your autonomic nervous system (ANS) that controls functions outside your conscious control (e.g. heart rate, digestion, blood pressure). 

2. The Vagus Nerve

The vagus nerve connects your gut and brain and is the second largest nerve in your body. It acts like an information superhighway, sending signals in both directions. The vagus nerve is part of your parasympathetic nervous system, or your ‘rest and digest’ response. It curbs the stress response and helps you relax.

3. Gut Microbiomes

Roughly 100 trillion microbes live in your gut. These microbes are known as your gut microbiome-- and they play a role in your gut brain connection too.

Your gut bacteria make neurotransmitters and other chemicals that affect your brain. In fact, 95% of the feel good neurotransmitter serotonin and 50% of dopamine is made by your gut bacteria!

They also make short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like butyrate as a byproduct of digesting fiber. SCFAs have a slew of health benefits. They reduce inflammation, stabilize your blood sugar, and help maintain the integrity of the intestinal barrier to name a few.

Eating for Gut Health: What to Avoid

One simple way to harness the power of the gut-brain connection is to watch what you put on your plate. By choosing foods that promote gut health and limiting ones that harm it, you can improve your mood, mental health, and overall well-being.

Below are some of the worst foods for gut health. To keep your gut happy, you’ll want to limit or avoid them

Eating for Gut Health: What to Enjoy

Eating a healthy, balanced diet filled with wholesome, nutrient-dense foods will go a long way in keeping your gut happy.

Be sure to include a diverse range of foods. Research shows the more diverse your diet is, the more diverse your microbiome tends to be.

Here’s why that matters. Microbiome diversity is the number of bacterial species that live in your gut. And generally, a diverse microbiome = a healthy microbiome.

With that in mind, here are some foods to add to the menu:

Lifestyle Choices for Improved Gut Health

Here are some lifestyle habits that support a healthy gut:

1.Chew Your Food

The more you chew your food, the better your digestion will be. Chewing your food well increases the production of salivary enzymes that help digest your food. Ideally, chew each bite until your food is the consistency of applesauce.

2.Exercise Regularly

Exercise is one of the best things you can do for your gut. Research shows it enhances the number of friendly flora in the gut and increases microbiome diversity. Exercise also helps keep your bowels moving to prevent constipation. As if that wasn’t enough, it also boosts your mood.

3.Reduce Stress

Stress is bad news for your gut. It increases intestinal permeability and disrupts the gut microbiome. Mindfulness, meditation, yoga, and breathing exercises like box breathing and diaphragmatic breathing are a few simple ways to help you relax and destress.

Read more about yoga and experiencing mindfulness on your mat HERE

4.Stay Hydrated

Drinking plenty of water helps keep your bowels moving to prevent constipation. But it also helps your body break down food so you can absorb nutrients better. Water needs vary, but shooting for at least 2 liters a day is a good rule of thumb.

5.Vagus Nerve Exercises

You can improve your gut-brain axis by doing activities that stimulate your vagus nerve. Singing, humming, gargling are a few simple ways to do this. Yoga, cold showers, laughter, and massage are also said to build vagal tone.

6.Get Plenty of Sleep

Research shows lack of sleep can negatively affect the gut microbiome in as little as two days. Not getting enough sleep also increases stress hormones like cortisol, which is linked with leaky gut. To keep your gut healthy, aim for 7-9 hours of sleep each night.

Your gut health plays a powerful role in your overall well-being, from digestion and energy levels to mood and mental clarity. By understanding the brain-gut connection, making mindful food choices, and incorporating gut-healing habits, you can take control of your health and feel your best. If you're ready to give your gut the support it deserves, our new 30-day gut-health meal plan is a great place to start. Small, intentional changes can lead to lasting transformation—your gut (and your whole body!) will thank you for it.