Food And Mood

Who could have ever imagined that in the last half a century with exponential progress in all spheres of life - affluence and abundance - mankind will have to be saddled with an unprecedented burden of mental illness? Globally, depression has been identified as the leading cause of disability by the World Health Organisation, and has been predicted to be the leading cause of disease burden by 2030*.

Mood and gut or the ‘blue bowel’ is the best way to highlight the relationship between depression and the gut. Scientists have now discovered that more than 80%** of neurotransmitters connected with happiness are produced by gut bacteria (cite source). Unhealthy flora due to poor quality food or food sensitivities leads to an imbalance and lowers diversity of microflora which causes the bad bacteria to increase and good bacteria to decrease. This triggers unfavourable health effects and gut inflammation.

Our food can also influence the chemical messages these bacteria send to the brain. According to studies, for every one message from the brain to the gut, there are nine messages from the gut to the brain. Scientists now not surprisingly call the gut a second brain***. Recent research suggests that bacterial species that cause inflammation are found in higher numbers in people suffering from depression.

According to Dr. Bhavna Barmi, Senior clinical psychologist and relationship therapist gut health is extremely important for mental health. The traditional belief that only psychiatry and talk therapy can treat mental health has widened to include lifestyle and food to it. Thus, it is imperative that from this point on, nutritionists, psychiatrists and psychotherapists work together for holistic care of the client to lead to maximum benefit.”

The truth is that our food is the primary contributor of the microbiome. There is an intricate relationship between the gut and the brain regulated by our microbiome through the gut brain axis. Resetting the microbiome through good bacteria in probiotics and feeding the good bacteria with prebiotics is a powerful tool to fight mood disorders.