How To Treat Anxiety Symptoms by Treating the Gut|Can Mental Disorders Be A Gut Issue?
Channel: Land of Peaceful Mind
Date: 2020-05-04

How To Treat Anxiety Symptoms by Treating the Gut|Can Mental Disorders Be A Gut Issue?
Antidepressants and other psychiatric medications have truly gone mainstream in the 1990s and 2000s! Nowadays, one in 10 Americans takes an antidepressant medication; among women in their 40s and 50s, the figure is one in four. Five percent of 12- to 19-year-olds in the U.S. use antidepressants, and another 6% of the same age group use medication for attention disorders like ADD or ADHD.

Since these medications are usually covered by insurance, usage tends to become long-term. Although psychiatric medications are generally considered safe, chronic use promotes dependency and they do come with adverse effects; sometimes, additional medications have to be prescribed to control the side effects, such as insomnia and agitation. Patients are often told by doctors that their symptoms are caused by a faulty biology - some chemical imbalances in the brain - and psychiatric drugs which mask the symptoms are often prescribed. However, very few doctors ever find out where the underlying causes of such chemical imbalances stem from.

The Gut-Brain Connection

Conventional medicine often views the body in distinct systems and psychological problems as independent from the rest of the body. But in actuality, our brains are inextricably tied to the gastrointestinal tract. Have you ever felt "butterflies" in your stomach before giving a presentation or intestinal pain during times of stress? The brain has a direct effect on the gut and the connection goes both ways.

Just as the brain has neurons (nerve cells), the gut also has neurons, including neurons that produce neurotransmitters (brain chemicals) like serotonin that are responsible for controlling mood, sleep, and appetite. 90-95 percent of our serotonin is made in the gut. The neurotransmitters then travel from the gut to the brain via the vagus nerve, which is the longest nerve that emerges directly from the brain. Therefore, if our gut health is compromised, the production of serotonin and other neurotransmitters will also be compromised. A deficiency in serotonin may cause depression, anxiety, sleep cycle disturbances, carbohydrate cravings, as well as PMS.

The vast majority of psychological complaints such as brain fog, concentration issues, anxiety disorders, depression, mood swings, ADHD, and autism spectrum disorder are rooted in neurotransmitter imbalances that begin in the gut. Chronic digestive problems (including gas, bloating, acid reflux, constipation, and diarrhea), fatigue, toenail fungus, and cold hands and feet may also be indicators of gut-brain dysfunction.

How Is Your Gut Causing Brain Symptoms?

1. Infections in the gut

In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that the microbes in the gut play a vital role in brain health. First, researchers found that depending on what species of bacteria dominate a person's gut, the connections between brain regions differ, resulting in the manifestation of different behaviors. For example, when some autistic children were given probiotics (beneficial bacteria), autistic behavior disappeared or strongly ameliorated.

Second, studies found that pathogenic (bad) bacteria in the gut interact with the immune system to cause the release of inflammatory cytokines (proteins involved in cell signaling) which then travel throughout the body. When they get to the brain, inflammation serves to shunt the use of tryptophan (an amino acid that makes serotonin) toward production of anxiety-provoking chemicals rather than serotonin and melatonin (the sleep hormone).


One of the ways in which carbs set off the inflammatory cascade in the brain is through surges in blood sugar. When blood sugar increases, neurotransmitters, which are the main mood and brain regulators, immediately get depleted. That means your levels of serotonin, epinephrine, norepinephrine, GABA, and dopamine all go down, not to mention that chronic blood sugar surges are tied to insulin resistance, leading to diabetes, and obesity.



    Exercise regularly as it helps to normalize insulin levels while simultaneously boosting the feel good hormones (such as serotonin and endorphins) in the brain.
    Manage your stress and make sure you get sufficient sleep every night.



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