I’ve been reading books and listening to a lot of podcasts recently about how our minds and bodies interact.
It’s fascinating!
Did you know, your gut and brain talk to one another?
Yep, really.
What you eat determines what bacteria are present in your gut, and that in turn influences how your brain functions. This can affect your mental health.
So it’s a really good idea to think about what you’re putting in your mouth.
Anxiety is really strange, a comic book by Steve Haines, mentions an experiment on mice that shows gut bacteria talk to the brain. An anxious mouse became more outgoing when its faecal microbiota were exchanged with that of another, more confident mouse. Simply, the transplanted gut bacteria from the confident mouse’s poo generated signals that helped the anxious mouse chill out!
Sure, this experiment used mice. But there’s plenty of research that shows our own gut health affects our overall health too, including mental health.
It seems diversity is key. So one thing you could do to have a healthier gut, and better overall health, is eat the rainbow. This is a colourful, diverse diet including lots of fruit and veg. But don’t worry, a naughty snack every now and then won’t usually hurt. My favourite at the moment is cheesy crackers – can’t get enough of them!
But I will say this. Since I’ve been eating a more plant-based diet overall, and purposefully including lots of colour, I have felt healthier. And it’s actually rather fun making your meals look pretty 😁
So, what’s one thing you’re going to change in your diet as a result of reading this? Do comment below 👇🏼