20/07/2025
THE GUT-BRAIN CONNECTION
Anxiety and stress can affect your gut, and vice versa – the health of your gut can affect your state of mind. If you’re experiencing digestive disorders, it’s not unusual to experience disruption to your mental health and cognition too.
The gut and brain are constantly in communication with one another – connected via the two-way superhighway of the vagus nerve, also known as the gut-brain axis. Along this pathway, messages are relayed from the depths of your digestive tract up to the highest regions of your brain.
Serotonin, one of the main chemicals found in your brain that contributes to feelings of happiness and wellbeing, is actually primarily produced in your gut. This important chemical is believed to influence a variety of physical and psychological functions, including mood, social behaviour, appetite and digestion, sleep, memory and sexual desire and function.
Studies have shown that altered gut microbes have a direct influence on the levels of this chemical which can subsequently alter mood and behaviour. Furthermore, a damaged gut leads to inflammation which can have systemic, far reaching effects for your body, including your brain:
•Brain fog
•Anxiety and depression
•Mood swings and irritability
•Poor memory and concentration
•concentration
•Cognitive dysfunction
If you are ready to support your gut health and reduce anxiety, DM me to grab my FREE guide to optimal digestion.
