The Gut-Brain Connection
By Dr. Katie Reinholtz
 

Yesterday evening I was telling my daughter to just trust her gut when she was trying to decide between two things.  She lovingly looked up at me and said, “What do my guts have to do with anything?” It got me thinking more and more about the overlap there is between our moods, our digestion and even how we make decisions.  
 

We all know there is a huge gut/mind connection and in my practice I commonly see anxiety, insomnia and depression worsen when there are digestive issues like bloating, diarrhea, constipation or abdominal pain.   Here’s some interesting information about why this happens! 
 

Our guts (as my 5 year old calls them) are host to trillions of bacteria that make up our microbiome and these bacteria have a lot of important functions—they influence how we digest our food, our metabolism, they protect the lining of the gut and they even program how our immune system behaves.   They have also developed a pretty sophisticated network that allows them to influence and communicate with our nervous system in fairly dramatic ways. Our gut bacteria make about 95% of the serotonin we produce and there is new evidence that gut bacteria can even communicate directly with the vagus nerve sending signals to the brain that influence how we feel on a day to day basis.    There is a lot of research being conducted right now that shows that “healthier microbiomes” are associated with less anxiety, better sleep, less depression, and less fear.   
 

Another aspect of this, which we commonly see is that the microbiome can regulate estrogen metabolism in fairly dramatic ways so it’s possible that a lot of conditions where we see disordered estrogen (endometriosis, PMS, PMDD, hot flashes, PCOS, chronic yeast, etc.) it is actually being heavily influenced by imbalances in the gut. 

Conversely our nervous system and brain can have a profound effect on our gut health.  Stress (even temporary) and trauma can lower the amount of healthy bacteria in our microbiome and can impair the lining of gastrointestinal tract.  If any of you have noticed that you get diarrhea or constipation when you are stressed this is because the brain can send signals to either slow down or speed up motility! 

When working with clients with GI issues we commonly do stool testing or other bacterial testing (such as the breath test for SIBO) that allows us to peek into the microbiome and get a sense for how these bacteria are behaving and how we might support these systems to improve outcomes that go far beyond the gut itself.   
 

Optimize Your Health for the Holidays!

Schedule a free 15 minute consult with Dr.Katie to see what may be the best way to support your Gut-Brain Connection

Call today 303 545 2021

Naturopathic Womens Wellness
1295 Yellow Pine Ave. Boulder CO 80304
P: 303-545-2021  |  F: 303-545-2003