You know, it's pretty obvious that our brain and gut are connected in some way. Think about it: a stomach ulcer can come from chronic stress, or that feeling of ‘butterflies’ in your stomach before speaking to a crowd, not to mention that ‘gut feeling’ we all get sometimes. Our emotions can really stir up some unpleasant reactions in our gut.
But it goes both ways! Poor gut health can actually affect our brain too. Take irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), for example—it can lead to mood issues like anxiety and depression (1). So, the gut-brain connection is definitely a two-way street.
Improving gut health through diet and supplement strategies can lead to better brain and cognitive health and may help prevent mood disorders and neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease (1).
But before we learn how to improve gut health naturally, let’s expand on our understanding of how the gut and brain interact with each other…