Gut Health

The New Science Of Turning Your Frown Upside Down

By  

Just Thrive

. 6 min read

Tired of feeling blue? Wish you weren’t stressed out all the time?

It’s hard to feel good when you’re surrounded by worries: an ongoing pandemic, bills and taxes, balancing your time between work and family. Constant stressors drag down your mood, leaving you with a sense of dissatisfaction and despair that makes it harder to feel positive about anything.

Thanks to our modern world, all of us could benefit from some “mood TLC” and mental health self care. 

And as it turns out, the key to calming your nerves, boosting your mood and reconnecting to joy might be found in one of the most unexpected of places…

Happiness And Your Intestines

Many scholars and practitioners of old theorized throughout the centuries that a connection existed between your gut and your brain. However, it wasn’t until the 1970’s that the theories were confirmed: 

Your brain and your gut share a direct link known as the gut-brain axis, or GBA. 

It makes sense when you think about it. You get gut feelings. Worry and anxiety make you sick to your stomach. And those kinds of positive and negative signals flow in both directions because your GBA is a two-way communication system.

That’s partly why scientists consider your gut to be your “second brain.” And much like your brain is composed of neuronic cells, your gut is home to your enteric nervous system (ENS), which contains hundreds of millions of nerve cells. Your ENS sends signals to your central nervous system (CNS) along the vagus nerve (a major cranial nerve extending from the brainstem down to the abdomen) – This is how your gut and your brain “talk”. 

Interestingly, exactly “what” your gut and brain talk about – as well as the health and effectiveness of your entire GBA system – is heavily influenced by your gut microbiome (the trillions of gut bacteria that end up guiding your mood).

gut brain axis

3 Ways Your Gut Bacteria Keep You Smiling

The bacteria in your gut microbiome have an enormous impact on your mental health, brainpower, and mood. 

In fact, it’s been shown that specific types of beneficial probiotic gut bacteria help keep you calm and brighten up your spirit in three important ways.

  1. They produce “feel-good” brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) such as serotonin, dopamine, and GABA that keep your mood up and your stress levels down.
  2. They help regulate stress hormones like cortisol so they don’t spiral out of control, imprisoning your body in a constant state of emergency