How to Improve Gut and Mental Health with Food

[Read time: 10 mins]

According to Justin Sonnenburg and Eric Sonnenburg, PhDs and authors of *From the Good Gut: Taking Control of Your Weight, Your Mood and Your Long-Term Health.

• “A primal connection exists between our brain and our gut. We often talk about a “gut feeling” when we meet someone for the first time. We’re told to “trust our gut instinct” when making a difficult decision or that it’s “gut check time” when faced with a situation that tests our nerve and determination. This mind-gut connection is not just metaphorical. Our brain and gut are connected by an extensive network of neurons and a highway of chemicals and hormones that constantly provide feedback about how hungry we are, whether or not we’re experiencing stress, or if we’ve ingested a disease-causing microbe.

This information superhighway is called the brain-gut axis and it provides constant updates on the state of affairs at your two ends. That sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach after looking at your post holiday credit card bill is a vivid example of the brain-gut connection at work. You’re stressed and your gut knows it—immediately.

The enteric nervous system (a fancy word for the part of the automatic nervous system responsible for the gut) is often referred to as our body’s second brain. There are hundreds of million of neurons connecting the brain to the enteric nervous system, the part of the nervous system that is tasked with controlling the gastrointestinal system. This vast web of connections monitors the entire digestive tract from the esophagus to the anus.

While our “second” brain cannot compose a symphony or paint a masterpiece the way the brain in our skull can, it does perform an important role in managing the workings of our inner tube.

The network of neurons in the gut is as plentiful and complex as the network of neurons in our spinal cord, which may seem overly complex just to keep track of digestion. Why is our gut the only organ in our body that needs its own “brain”? Is it just to manage the process of digestion? Or could it be that one job of our second brain is to listen in on the trillions of microbes residing in the gut?

This circuitry of neurons, hormones, and chemical neurotransmitters not only sends messages to the brain about the status of our gut, it allows for the brain to directly impact the gut environment. The rate at which food is being moved and how much mucus is lining the gut—both of which can be controlled by the central nervous system—have a direct impact on the environmental conditions the microbiota experiences.

Like any ecosystem inhabited by competing species, the environment within the gut dictates which inhabitants thrive. Just as creatures adapted to a moist rain forest would struggle in the desert, microbes relying on the mucus layer will struggle in a gut where mucus is exceedingly sparse and thin. Bulk up the mucus, and the mucus-adapted microbes can stage a comeback. The nervous system, through its ability to affect gut transit time and mucus secretion, can help dictate which microbes inhabit the gut. In this case, even if the decisions are not conscious, it’s mind over microbes.
What about the microbial side? When the microbiota adjusts to a change in diet or to a stress-induced decrease in gut transit time, is the brain made aware of this modification? Does the brain-gut axis run in one direction only, with all signals going from brain to gut, or are some signals going the other way? Is that voice in your head that is asking for a snack coming from your mind or is it emanating from the insatiable masses in your bowels? Recent evidence indicates that not only is our brain “aware” of our gut microbes, but these bacteria can influence our perception of the world and alter our behavior. The old adage, you’re a product of your environment. Specifically your gut environment. It is becoming clear that the influence of our microbiota reaches far beyond the gut to affect an aspect of our biology few would have predicted—our mind.

For example, the gut microbiota influences the body’s level of the potent neurotransmitter serotonin, which regulates feelings of happiness. Some of the most prescribed drugs in the U.S. for treating anxiety and depression, like Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil, work by modulating levels of serotonin. And serotonin is likely just one of a numerous biochemical messengers dictating our mood and behavior that the microbiota impacts.

According to Caltech Institute of Technology it’s estimated that 90% of the body’s serotonin [happiness] is made in the intestinal tract”.

Reading the above information it’s obvious the gut and brain are linked. Health and happiness are made in the gut. But what are we putting into the gut to make health and happiness is the question?

Are you eating premium food, average food or ‘food’ if you left outside ants and bugs wouldn’t eat?

As my mentor Paul Chek says “you can’t make chicken salad out of chicken shit!” What Paul means is how do you expect to make a healthy body and happy thoughts if you’re putting average food into the system.

It’s simple math. To improve gut and mental health, we need better food.
Optimal health = Gut health x mental health

Your body is a like a Formula 1 car. People instead of putting premium fuel, feed their body E15 Unleaded. It’s no wonder people are unhappy, tired, have shit skin and no motivation, surviving on 5 coffees to get through the day. I see this time and again with people that become my clients. They’re breaking the rules of the game and are paying the price in health and in the wallet visiting doctors.

If you fall into this category the good news is it’s your fault and you decide on a daily basis, meal by meal if you deserve to be happy, energetic, have beautiful skin and a the sex drive of a young lion. If you want these, eat better. I don’t mean what the Australian Food Pyramid, Dieticians Australian or necessarily what Paleo or Vegans recommend because all parties miss the critical factor - the quality of the food and focus on the quantity. Remember the gut is an ecosystem, it’s an environment. Environmentally friendly foods are needed.

Sooo Sherlock what’s the best food to eat? I’m glad you asked Watson…The answer: Certified Organic and Biodymanic produce.

It doesn’t matter if it’s meat, vegetables or bread.

Why?

Because healthy food is made from healthy soil (environment) and the farming practices that produce the healthiest food, farm in a way that’s life promoting. Whereas commercial agriculture is life destroying because spraying the soil and plants with pesticides damages and decreases nutrients.

Certified organic and Biodynamic farming produce nutritional rich foods. Healthier for people, animals and the planet due to its higher nutritional value and low toxic impact on the environment. The British Soil Association over a 21-year period, identified the microorganism population responsible for soil fertility and plant root nutrient absorption was 85% higher in organically managed fields than in non-organically managed fields (Fliessbach, A., Mader, P., Pfiffner, L., 2000).

What this means is the health of the soil is the key to how nutritional dense a plant is. If the soil is farmed healthy, without sprays, the plant has more nutrition then we have more nutrition in our food. After all, humans eat animals and plants. Animals eat plants. Plants get their nutrition from the soil. One of my favourite movies - The Lion King best describes this:

Good scene right. A Disney classic.

Wait wait wait. No No No. Hold on. Isn’t it about calories in vs calories out?

Um not exactly. Let’s use a practical example.

Imagine a friend that goes to McDonalds and eats 3 Big Macs (one Big Mac is 257 cal) so 3 is over 750 calories. They might be able to eat 3 Big Macs but they’ll be hungry an hour or so later. Now imagine that same person trying to eat the calorie equivalent in apples (one apple has 52 calories). Imagine trying to eat 14 apples! Hell, you wouldn’t be hungry afterwards, you probably wouldn’t even finish eating 14 apples. Why? The body has an inbuilt mechanism that turns off hunger when nutritional levels are met, not calorie levels. It’s not calories in vs out. It’s calorie:nutrition in vs out. That’s why you can eat 3 Big Macs and still be hungry but not apples.

Fun fact: Calories or Kilojoules (KJ) were a unit designed to measure energy in food. It was revolutionary for the time, back in 1819 - 1852 depending on which sources you read. But since 1819 we’ve come a LONNNGGGG way on how to measure energy.

Remember the study above. Scientists at the British Soil Association did exactly that. The British Soil Association over a 21-year period, identified the microorganism population responsible for soil fertility and plant root nutrient absorption was 85% higher in organically managed fields than in non-organically managed fields (Fliessbach, A., Mader, P., Pfiffner, L., 2000).

85% more plant root absorption! Equals 85% more nutrition! 85% more energy! 85% more happiness. This is simplified but you see how important soil health is to human health and human happiness, your happiness.

The interesting part isn’t that. The major difference between organic/biodynamic farming and commercial agriculture is that the first approach doesn’t use pesticides whereas commercial agricultural farming does. The scary thing is the pesticides have been shown to pollute your organs and our waterways yet nothing is being done about it.

Agricultural farming is the biggest polluter of America’s rivers and streams, fouling more than 173,000 miles (278, 416km) of waterways.
Ref: United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report: 1990-2014*

Agricultural sprays such as CHEMICAL pesticides that pollute waterways also pollute our glands and organs. According to Pesticides, Food and You: The Dose Makes the Poison?:

“Current [Australian] pesticide regulation does not properly consider impacts on the endocrine system (glands, organs), immune-toxicity and current pesticide regulation has not yet evolved to keep with recent scientific research that reveals pesticides can have significant impact at very low doses—well below the levels currently regarded as being safe.” This is why I promote eating organic, pesticide-free ingredients.

The rest of the world is in the same boat.

Australian Certified Organic (ACO) does not pollute waterways because to be certified organic, the soil must be tested for three years, ensuring no chemical fertilisers or pesticides are used that would damage soil nutrients and pollute rivers. The Environment America Report suggests to “restore our rivers, lakes and streams, the [agricultural] industry must shift away from industrial-scale livestock facilities and overproduction of commodity crops which depend on heavy doses of fertilizers and pesticides such as commercial farming” and adopt alternative farming systems such as organic farming.

Certified organic and Biodynamic farming is environmentally sustainable, better for your health, the soil, rivers and wildlife because it DOES NOT use chemical pesticides.

You literally are voting with your money whether you are pro healthy planet or not by the food you’re buying. If you don’t buy products that poison your body and the world, those people cannot manufacture the toxic products anymore! Each of us is voting with our dollar dollar bills yo.

What can I do, I am but one man or woman?

The little things really do add up. You can make a small change, and these actions along with other people’s small changes, really do change the world!

1. Try your local farmers markets? Ask which farmers are Certified Organic and Biodynamic?

2. Check out the Australian Certified Organics website advanced search to find farmers that have the products you want.
   https://aco.net.au/organic-product-search/?search_term=

3. Most health food stores will have organic food and organic skin care.

Whatever products you put on your skin, whether body wash, or make up is being absorbed by your body, being mindful of what products you use is critical. Eat organic and use organic skin care.

1. Try organic home delivery on Google.

Excuses:

I’m going to call some of my readers out on their shit right now. Some of you will have all the reasons why you CAN’T do something, not reasons why you CAN do something. Excuses such as it costs too much or I don’t eat that bad. These same people driving their new Audi’s, living in 5 bedroom homes and complaining food is too expensive! Last time I checked food ranked pretty high up on necessity. Why don’t you get a knife and fork, try eating that car or Louis vuitton handbag because the small price you pay now will save you thousands in the future with Doctors. Don’t be a Lazy Larry or Lazy Jane. Small changes implemented over time lead to lasting results.

Try to change your eating habits 10 - 20% a week. I’ve seen it with people I coach, trying to change everything 100% in one or two weeks, usually leads to people rebelling and sabotaging.

Progress is better than perfection.

A good starting tip is to eat right 80% of the time and splurge 20% of the time so you stay sane.** That 20% splurge might be cake or wine. Still good quality.

What we measure we manage.

An excellent way to work out if what you’re doing is working is to use a food diary. You record what you eat for at least 10 consecutive days, how you feel, your energy and satiety. This provides you a visual data points to work out, when you eat x, this is the result. When you eat y, this is the result. From this you can determine if what you’re eating is optimal Formula 1 fuel or not. You can do this on your own in a book.

If you prefer something easier, more detailed and already designed, where you fill in the blank I created a food diary that tracks when you eat, what you eat but also how you feel, how much water you drink, your sleep and a range of other holistic variables. Check it out here.

To Recap.

Our brain and gut are connected by an extensive network of neurons and a highway of chemicals and hormones that constantly provide feedback about how hungry we are, whether or not we’re experiencing stress, or if we’ve ingested a disease-causing microbe. This multitude of neurons in the enteric nervous system (fancy word for the part of the automatic nervous system responsible for the gut) enables us to “feel” the world through our gut and its surroundings. The gut is interconnected with our brain. According to Caltech Institute of Technology it’s estimated that 90% of the body’s serotonin [happiness] is made in the intestinal tract". To improve your gut and mental health eat Certified Organic and Biodynamic food because it’s been shown to have more nutrition, less toxins, is environmentally sustainable better for soil, rivers and wildlife. It’s what our planet needs, you’ll be healthier and have the building blocks to create happier thoughts.

Let food be thy medicine. ~ Hippocrates

If you found this article educational, I think you’ll also like my Goal Setting Program where I teach you how to get the brain part sorted in the gut brain connection. We might have the physical materials with nutrition, but we also need the goal setting skills, or the mindset to have the life and health we want. Click here to learn more.