Healthy Food - Healthy Mind!

Healthy Food -Healthy Mind

             The Connection between your gut microbiome and your brain explained.

Different ways can microbiome affect the brain:
1. Stimulation by dysbiosis, intestinal permeability (leaky gut), or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO); can lead to systemic inflammation
2. A cross reaction might occur between bacterial proteins and human antigens which causes the immune system to malfunction
3. Neurotoxic metabolites are produced by bacterial enzymes such as D-lactic acid and ammonia
4. The hormones and neurotransmitters that produced by bacteria can affect their growth and virulence
5. They stimulate afferent neurons of the enteric nervous system to send signals to the brain via the vagus nerve.
Thus, they shape our sleep and stress response; they influence our memory, mood, and cognition. Interestingly, gut microbiome is relevant to many health issues, including alcoholism, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and restless legs syndrome.
They are altered by a healthy diet which includes probiotics, and prebiotics
Some factors that disturb the microbiome, which leads to increased intestinal
permeability are extreme physiologic stress, alcohol consumption and a diet high in carbs and saturated fat. It has been found that restricting sugar can significantly reduce neurotoxicity. Fasting seems to increase gut bacteria diversity-while overeating has a counter effect. Any changes in diet affects this.
​By Dr. Noha Elshatshat
Noha is a Doctor of Medicine, a certified Functional Nutrition Counsellor and Mother who lives in Cork. You can contact her at; https://healingjourney.blog/