How Gut Health Impacts Mental Health

It's May, Mental Health Month, and today we are deep diving into how nutrition and your gut impact your mental health. <br /><br />Studies on the Correlation Between the Digestive Issues & Mental Health<br /><br />There is a very strong connection between digestive disorders and mental health that we are just beginning to understand. A number of studies have been done on this subject and we're going to talk about a few of them. <br /><br />#1: Taiwanese Study on the Risk of Psychiatric Disorders Following IBS Diagnosis<br /><br />This Taiwanese study showed that the risk of depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, and bipolar syndrome are significantly higher in the first year after IBS diagnosis.<br /><br />#2: Study on Psychological Disorders in Patients with Chronic Constipation<br /><br />This study found that there's about a 37% rate of anxiety and about a 24% rate of depression in patients with chronic constipation. In the general population, anxiety is about 18% and depression is about 8-9%. <br /><br />The Sympathetic Nervous System<br /><br />The sympathetic nervous system controls your heart rate, breathing, and more. If you're nervous and your heart is beating quickly, think about what happens to your GI tract. The muscles of the GI tract begin to contract. The same thing happens when we have anxiety, and those muscle contractions can feel like IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome).<br /><br />The Impact of IBS on Every Day Life<br /><br />Whether you have diarrhea or constipation-predominant IBS, it can affect your life and your work life. It can lead to isolation, canceling social events, having to call in sick to work, feeling like you have to plan around going to the bathroom, and more.<br /><br />So, there's a strong connection between psychological and digestive disorders. And it can be hard to say which one comes first. <br /><br />The Gut-Brain Axis<br /><br />This study looks at the bi-directional connection we have between the gut and the brain and how some of this communication may be happening. Essen