Ever heard someone say, “trust your gut”?

If your gut microbiome is off, it can cause you to feel anxious and depressed. What’s more, an unhealthy gut microbiome can actually be the cause of more serious psychiatric disorders like bipolar disorder and even schizophrenia. We used to think these mental disorders were all in our head, but really, they stem from our guts.

Even Hippocrates knew this vital fact: disease begins in the gut, and as we have been discovering, he is exactly right. A gut that is disrupted by antibiotics, a poor diet, or stress can cause anxiety disorders as well as depression. Yes, your gut bacteria have a strong effect on your mood and mental state.

Almost 20 percent of the U.S. population suffers from some type of anxiety disorder, and that only counts the ones who are officially diagnosed. The number of people who suffer from anxiety, depression and other mood disorders is probably much higher.

Anxiety can be paralyzing, causing fear, apprehension, and panic attacks. It affects all parts of life too. Many people turn to pharmacological medications to help, but these often have negative side effects, like being addictive or making you sleepy. And these meds don’t get to the heart of the problem—fixing your gut.

Serotonin and other brain neurotransmitters are thought to originate in the brain, but many of these important brain chemicals are manufactured in your gut. Yes, your gut. And if your gut does not have the right balance of healthy bacteria, it will have a definite effect on your moods.

In fact, the field of psychiatry is actually beginning to understand that a wide variety of mood and mental disorders are related to the gut-brain pathway. Even things like:
ADHD, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Your gut and your brain communicate directly through the vagus nerve, as well as your spinal cord. The vagus nerve connects the central nervous system to your heart, lungs, and digestive tract. In addition, many different types of bacteria in the gut help to synthesize 90 percent of necessary neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine and GABA.

These neurotransmitters are responsible for those happy, ‘feel-good’ and calm feelings. The gut microbiome is also directly or indirectly responsible for other important brain chemicals including brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF.

It’s interesting to note that there have been notable differences in the gut microbiome with mood disorders in human studies. In other words, depressed or anxious people have a very different gut profile than a healthy person.

Now, compound the issues of the delicate balance of the microbiome with gluten intolerance or celiac disease. There is a very strong link between celiac disease and psychological state. Anxiety, depression and fatigue are even more common in those with some degree of gluten sensitivity.

Along with an imbalance of appropriate gut bacteria, the inflammation and malabsorption in the small intestine can create problems that result in malnutrition and vitamin deficiencies.

Vitamins and minerals such as B6, B12, folate, vitamin D, vitamin K, iron and calcium are synthesized and absorbed in the gut. Many of these vitamins are also associated with mood, especially the B vitamins, which have much to do with nerve and brain function. A deficiency in these can most definitely cause depression, anxiety and even schizophrenia and dementia.

These vitamin deficiencies and malabsorption severely affect the body’s ability to produce the necessary ingredients for serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine, making someone who has gluten sensitivity even more prone to mood disorders.

In 1967, a doctor discovered that a large portion of the patients in an inpatient psychiatric unit happened to also have had a major history of gluten intolerance. Many physicians have also noticed that their celiac patients were about 10 times more likely to have schizophrenia or other serious psychological disorders, as compared to their non-celiac patients.

In addition, epidemiological studies of Pacific Islanders and other populations have shown a strong, dose-dependent relationship between wheat consumption and schizophrenia. While gluten-free populations studied have extremely rare occurrences of schizophrenia, there are about 1 in 100 cases of schizophrenia here in the wheat eating U.S. And when populations have Westernized their diets to add more wheat products, sugar and beer (which contains gluten) schizophrenia becomes much more common.

Coincidence? I think not.

Gluten also causes tiny micro-holes in the gut, creating a syndrome called leaky gut syndrome. This causes tiny protein molecules from food to leak out into the body, creating an inflammatory immune response and causing food allergies.

The body reacts to these foreign molecules as it would pathogens, attacking them and mounting an immune defense. This not only weakens our defenses against REAL pathogens, but it also creates a whole cascade of reactions in the body like abdominal swelling, joint aches, brain fog, headaches, rashes and more.

Gluten intolerance also can be related to mood swings, depression, anxiety, irritability, anger management problems and social phobias.

A healthy gut microbiome is important to our health and well-being even as babies. It has been found that babies who have been born vaginally have a healthier, more well-balanced gut microbiome than babies who were born via C-section. This is because a vaginal birth helps to populate an infant’s gut with the appropriate bacteria to start life.

Fix Your Gut and Change Your Moods for the Better!

A healthy gut should have a diverse, robust microbiome that protects and nourishes the body.  Unfortunately, many factors present in our daily lives contribute to gut damage:

• Antibiotics
• Refined sugar
• Refined carbohydrates and grains, especially wheat
• Industrially processed vegetable oils like canola oil, soy oil, corn oil, etc.
• Inadequate intake of healthy fiber-especially vegetable fiber
• Drinking too much alcohol
• Chronic stress
• Foods containing grain and gluten

So how do we get back to a healthy microbiome in our guts and back to a happy, healthy, relaxed state of mind? First, realize there is no ONE perfect diet or a perfect microbiome, but we do know the elements that go into creating a healthy microbiome in our guts.

Most importantly, we have to remove the junk food that feeds the unhealthy bacteria and allows it to over populate our guts. Remove foods that contain sugar, refined carbohydrates, and especially foods containing gluten. While there is a lot of controversy out there about who is gluten intolerant and who isn’t, its better to just avoid gluten all together. It’s not so hard to be gluten-free these days, and your body and your mind will be far better off if you just remove the inflammatory substance.

Removing sugar and starchy foods will also help to starve out the overgrowth of candida, and other harmful pathogens, that are most certainly flourishing in your gut if you eat a high-carb diet.

Eat more healthy fiber—from vegetables, primarily. Healthy fiber from vegetables and fruit helps to feed the healthy bacteria in your gut, while ‘sweeping’ away the harmful gunk that may have built up.

Keep your diet to mostly healthy naturally-raised proteins, and organic vegetables. Avoid grains and other high carbohydrate foods. Drink bone broth. Bone broth contains healing ingredients, including collagen and glycerin that help to repair leaky guts and to soothe and nourish your insides, all the while encouraging the growth of healthy bacteria.

Consume lots of naturally fermented foods like (low sugar) yogurt, kefirs, kombucha, sauerkraut, kimchi, and tempeh.

Consider taking a probiotic—especially if you have recently taken antibiotics. Certain probiotic strains of bacteria are especially helpful to encourage growth of healthy bacteria in your gut. And when you have lots of healthy bacteria, that bad stuff cannot grow. There are a few specific kinds that have been known to be especially helpful to improve anxiety or depression in clinical trials.

Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Bifidobacterium bifidum, and Bifidobacterium longum have all been shown to decrease feelings of anxiety and/or depression in human clinical trials. There are a huge variety of probiotic supplements are on the market, but they can be broken down into five main varieties:

• Lactobacillus
• Bifidobacterium
• Saccharomyces boulardii (healthy fungus)
• Soil-based or spore-forming probiotics
• E. coli Nissle 1917 (healthy form of E. coli)

Everyone’s microbiome is individual and everyone has a different mix of healthy bacteria. It’s best to try a few different kinds of probiotics or try a probiotic supplement that contains 3-5 of the above strains. And give it about 6-8 weeks. While you may feel some relief right away, clearing out those toxic and inflammatory pathogens that are anchored in your gut may take a while—as does re-establishing all those happy, healthy critters.

A healthy happy state of mind starts in your gut. Take care of it, and feed only those healthy bacteria. You may change your entire life for the better!

If you are looking to keep your gut health in check, along with addressing your weight, digestive issues, carvings, and even fatigue, check this out.

Discover the “health” foods you need to remove from your diet NOW.

References:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/evolutionary-psychiatry/201103/wheat-and-schizophrenia
https://chriskresser.com/your-gut-microbiome-and-anxiety-whats-the-connection/
https://www.beyondceliac.org/living-with-celiac-disease/psychological-impacts/

The post The Bacteria in Your Gut Determine Your Moods appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

Today’s blog is republished from my friends at TheAlternativeDaily, a leading publisher of daily alternative health tips that I personally read every day…

By Krista Hillis, TheAlternativeDaily.com

There are some things that remain unchanged from child to adulthood — and giggling when you toot is one of them. Whether you blame it on the dog or your husband, passing gas is a normal bodily function. However, is it possible to fart too often? Are your daily farts trying to tell you something? If you have noticed that you’re overly gassy lately, here’s what you need to know.

What are farts, anyway?

The average person farts nearly every day, so what is it that we’re passing? Also known as “flatulence,” a fart is simply an internal build-up of gas. More specifically, farts are made up of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, oxygen, methane and hydrogen. What a lovely little gaseous cocktail, eh

Although these gases are formed during the process of respiration and digestion, the true cause of excessive gas will depend on personal circumstances. For the most part, farts are silent and odorless. It’s estimated that only around one percent of farts produce a foul smell.

No need to be embarrassed. It’s quite natural and, in many cases, healthy! In fact, a healthy person may pass gas around 15 to 20 times per day. But is that a “normal” standard?

What causes farting?

There are a number of reasons why gas gets trapped in the body, including swallowing air, constipation and changes in microflora. When someone begins to experience an excessive buildup of gas, this may mean:

• You’re suffering from intolerances or food allergies
• You’re experiencing bacterial overgrowth
• You are constipated
• You are experiencing symptoms of IBS, Crohn’s, etc.
• Fermentation is occurring within the gut

More often than not, farting is harmless. It is a normal metabolic function. And for those who consume plenty of fiber-rich foods, increased flatulence may indicate a diet that promotes positive health. Take beans, for example, a food that’s known to cause gas. This is due to the type of carbohydrates which ferment in the gut.

In that sense, I’m not going to throw out a “magic” number. How many times you fart during the day may vary. Do not focus too much on how often you’re farting, but why you are passing more gas than usual. What other symptoms, if any, have you noticed?

Am I an excessive farter?

If you have noticed that you’re overly gassy lately, start to keep track. How many times did you break wind throughout the day? What did you eat? Start to document these key pieces of information.

Although tooting more than 23 to 25 times daily is considered to be more than normal, if you’re farting more than that, there’s still no need to panic. A good rule of thumb is this: if excessive gas and bloating affect your quality of life, then it’s best to get a professional opinion.

In many cases, it’s something as simple as lactose intolerance. If you’re suffering from excessive gas and bloating, however, you may want to focus on the following possibilities:

1. You’re a fast eater

Do your loved ones often tell you to slow down when you’re eating? Do you eat quickly when you’re on-the-go? Perhaps you chew a lot of gum? Either way, when you eat rapidly, you tend to swallow more air. Once that air (made up of various gases) gets into your body, it has to come out somehow. If you don’t burp it up, you may find that it’s coming out the other end.

2. Your gut is imbalanced

As mentioned, a small percentage of farts are those stinky bombs that make this act so embarrassing. You would think that rotten farts indicate something is the matter, but this isn’t necessarily the case. Generally speaking, stinky gas is generally caused by the breakdown of sulfur.

Since there are many healthy foods that contain sulfur, including broccoli and beans, stinky gas does not automatically indicate poor health. With that being said, if you notice that the stench of your farts is overly awful — and your diet is less than ideal — this could mean you’re suffering from an underlying condition.

If you’re farting often, you may think that you’re unhealthy. But the truth is, passing gas can mean that your gut is being properly fed. The healthy microbes that live in our gut, are known to promote a wide range of health benefits. In order for these microbes to get nutrients, we must eat foods that cause gas.

When there’s undigested food in the large intestine, including fiber and other hard-to-digest carbs, these microbes get to work. In turn, more gas is created — as well as short-chain fatty acids, which promote the growth of other beneficial bacteria.

Farting is healthy, just not too much

I think this is important to mention, as it’s often recommended that we eat more probiotics. However, fiber is equally critical. Based on a recent study, published in Cell, researchers found that microbes need fiber in order to maintain optimal health. When they do not get natural fiber as a food source, they can actually begin to eat the layer of mucus that lines the gut — potentially leading to infection.

So, passing wind while consuming a healthy diet is fairly normal — but excessive gas could also mean you’re suffering from SIBO, or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. Normally, the majority of bacteria is found inside the colon, but in this case, bacteria begins to invade the small intestine.

In turn, individuals experience poor nutrient absorption and symptoms often associated with IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). Along with increased flatulence, you may also experience bloating, fatigue, skin rashes and weight loss. If this is the case, you will need to address your current diet. Implement herbal remedies, including the use of lemon balm and oregano oil.

3. You’re sensitive to gluten or dairy

Even if you have been eating dairy your whole life without any noticeable issues, your system can change as you age. Over the course of time, your body may no longer produce enough lactase. The same is true for those who can not properly break down gluten — which is the case among those with celiac disease.

Whenever you believe something in your diet is to blame for any abnormal symptoms, including excessive flatulence, it’s best to try an elimination diet. Stop eating all dairy, for instance, and then see how you feel. Continue this process, focusing on FODMAP carbohydrates, including wheat, dairy, onions, garlic, legumes and stone fruit (cherries and peaches).

Although many FODMAP carbohydrates are healthy, they can be hard to break down. Each individual is different, so it’s best to keep a food journal and identify key triggers. Once you better understand the cause, you can create a more effective action plan.

Listen to your body

From hormonal changes to constipation, there are a number of reasons why you may be tootin’ more often. As mentioned, unless you fart a lot (30 or more times daily), or you’re finding that excessive flatulence is affecting your quality of life, your body is more than likely just doin’ its thing.

Like all symptoms, your body is trying to communicate with you. The more in-tune you are, the easier it will be to maintain positive health. So, listen to your body. In this case, your farts will do all the talking.

The original source of this article is found here

“Speaking of digestive issues…”

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And everything to do with keeping your bowels active.

If you’re having pooping problems, your body isn’t digesting food and eliminating toxins properly.

So your bowels get clogged, leaving you with up to 10 pounds of toxic poop stuck in your gut.

The good news is, Stanford researchers have found a way to jumpstart the bowels and release up to 10 pounds of stuck poop to eliminate bloat and shrink your belly.

It’s already helping thousands of people lose weight and stay slim with LESS effort…

> Discover the “pooping trick” people over 40 are using to slim down fast.

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