Did you know your gut health can be a big contributor to your depression or anxiety? Our last newsletter discussed the gut-brain axis. Many of the feel-good neurotransmitters for mood are produced in the gut. On the negative side, inflammation in the gut also causes inflammation in the brain. In order to improve mood, we need to improve gut health. This can be the missing link for many people with mood disorders.
There are a couple of important tests to consider when exploring your gut contributing to depression and anxiety. The first is a GI 360 Profile, which tests beneficial bacteria levels in the gut. It also looks for overgrowth of bad bacteria, yeast, parasites and viruses, and will show gut inflammation levels.
The second test is Food Align, which looks at 240 different foods to see how you react to each one individually. This can be key to figuring out if any foods are negatively impacting your gut and causing inflammation. This allows us to customize your diet to eliminate potentially harmful foods that could be underlying culprits to your mental health issues.
Don’t overlook gut health when it comes to depression and anxiety. Restoring balance to the gut with diet changes, probiotics, healing infections and eliminating foods you are sensitive to can make a big improvement to your mental health.