The Second Brain: Your Gut!

Gut health has recently become popular, there are plenty of products you can buy to “improve” your gut health. Although the cheaper and more beneficial way to take care of your gut is by eating more whole foods and avoiding eating highly processed foods. Probiotics and Prebiotics are another great way to make the gut more healthy. Research has shown that the gut, also referred to as the second brain, has a big influence on one's mood and overall health. The microbiome-gut-brain (MGB) axis has an impact on how emotions are processed and regulated. ​

The gut-brain axis is like a highway system that sends signals from the gut to the brain, and when the gut is filled with processed foods it sends negative signals to the brain, increasing the chance of a person feeling anxious symptoms. When the gut is healthy, it sends happy signals to the brain and increases serotonin into the brain. Anxiety has been repeatedly linked to decreased gut microbiome alpha diversity (Huang et al., 2021), meaning that the less healthy the gut the more likely an individual is to be anxious.​ People should be more conscious about the food they are consuming and that not only do processed foods harm a human's insides  they can harm an individuals mental health. People have become so accustomed to processed foods that they assume it is normal to experience persistent stomach pain or other bodily abnormalities after eating certain foods. Humans who regularly fuel their bodies with bad foods that hurt their guts will have an increased chance of having depressive symptoms. 

Here is a list of foods that will help out your gut.

-Kombucha

-Sauerkraut 

-Yogurt

-Avocado

-Leafy greens-Garlic

-Oats

-Bone broth

-Good quality meat

-Good quality salmon

-Ginger

-Milk

-Kale

-Apple

-Salad

Try adding some of these to your diet to see how you feel!

-Written by Jillian Falvo, undergraduate intern