When you read that title, you might have thought I was making a pretty big leap. What in the world does digestion have to do with things like depression, anxiety and mental health. Quite a bit it turns out. Last week, we discussed digestive health as a foundation for good overall health. This week, I want to dive in a bit deeper and connect the dots specifically between digestion and mental health.
Why in the world would your digestive health have anything to do with your mood or mental health? Let’s start with serotonin. Serotonin production happens in the gut. Approximately 95% of your serotonin is produced in the intestines (1) Serotonin has a big impact on our mood. It makes us feel good. It helps regulate mood and it is very important for good sleep. So, if your gut isn’t producing the right amount of Serotonin because of digestive dysfunction, it can lead to feelings of depression, moodiness, cravings, poor sleep and addictive or OCD tendencies. Women seem to see these symptoms more commonly than men, although they are seen frequently in both males and females.
There are many prescription medications to address these symptoms. They are called SSRI medications or Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors. They may temporary improve mood or symptoms of depression, but they do not address root cause and have many side effects (2) They can also be very addictive. I feel like a much better approach is to find the reason for the symptoms and treat the issue at the source.
Serotonin is just one issue with mental health. There are many other neurotransmitters (or brain chemicals) that are effected by digestive deficiencies. The B vitamins are very crucial for the proper production of these neurotransmitters (3) Vitamin B6 is especially critical. I do a lot of micronutrient testing in my clinical practice, and I can tell you that I see B vitamin deficiencies in almost everyone I test!
A complicating factor in B vitamin status is a genetic variant called MTHFR which can lead to a functional deficiency in Vitamin B9 (folate) and B12 as well as an intolerance to certain forms of B9. As many as 40% of people in the general population are effected to some degree by this MTHFR variant. (4) When someone is effected by this, it can elevate levels of homocysteine, which causes inflammation. Inflammation is another topic entirely, but increased inflammation has been linked to many chronic health problems.
I see clients very frequently who have developed anxiety, depression, or are struggling with mood issues. Many times they also can not sleep, which makes everything worse. They have tried the prescription medications and are not happy with the results or are worried about the long term side effects (which I think is wise). So, we begin the journey to assessing the situation and the health of the gut and improving on what needs help.
How do we do this? Sometimes nutrient testing and something called an Organic Acids test comes in very handy. This tells at which nutrients are deficient at the cellular level. This is very different than looking at serum nutrient level. It is possible, even common to have enough of a nutrient in the bloodstream, but not making it to the cells, where it can be used. I actually see this quite commonly when I have both of those values side by side. Running an Organic Acids Test or OAT is another way to look at certain markers that show us what a person’s serotonin metabolites look like. I like to run these tests together to get a good picture. I also include the MTHFR test so that we know if the genetic factor is at play also.
We look at their history. A history of antibiotic use, oral contraceptives, and antacid or PPI medications can have a huge impact on gut health. Travel and exposure to pathogens that live in the gut can also be an issue. In cases where that is suspected, a digestive test can be a life-saver by helping us identify what is in the digestive tract that shouldn’t be there and then using the appropriate natural remedy to help eliminate it. The absence of healthy bacteria and undigested food particles also show up on a GI-Map test and help us narrow in on a good solution.
Some people want and need that level of analysis and testing. Others want to try the basics first. Here are some great starting points:
- Clean up your diet – Eat an anti-inflammatory diet rich in health proteins (organic, grass fed), lots of veggies, some fruits and very limited amounts of grains and/or sugar if any
- Drink plenty of pure, clean water (1/2 your body weight in oz) away from meals. Excessive drinking near meal times can cause stomach acid to dilute
- Eat protein first in a meal – your stomach acid is strongest at the beginning of a meal and protein requires the strongest stomach acid
- Supplement as needed with high-quality digestive supports. For most people, this looks like a good probiotic to help facilitate the growth of “good” bacteria, digestive enzymes to help break down and digest the nutrients in your food, a multi-vitamin with high quality, activated (methylated B vitamins) and some herbs that help with gut health like olive leaf and oregano. I have created a Gut Health Pak that you might want to look at if you feel like you might benefit from some supplements. I have spent many years making sure I am including only high quality, effective supplements.
If you would like some custom 1:1 consulting, I am happy to help with that as well. You can visit www.DrJeni.com and click the “Get Started” link to schedule a time for a short free call to learn more about that.
I hope this helped connect some dots between digestion and mental health. I find that frequently people have no idea of this connection and feel like their only answer is to struggle or to take prescription medications that they aren’t crazy about. I think there is a better way, a more natural way.
To your health,
Dr. Jeni
(1) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2694720/
