126. Your Psychobiome: How Your Gut Influences Your Mental Health

In today's episode Colette delves into the fascinating world of the psychobiome – the intricate connection between your gut and brain. From the whispers of your gut influencing your thoughts to the surprising origins of serotonin and its role in addictions, Colette takes us on a journey through the complex interplay of our mental and physical health.

In this enlightening discussion, Colette explores how chronic inflammation affects mental health and offers practical strategies to regulate cravings and reduce stress. 

Discover the power of cultivating a healthier psychobiome through well-sourced probiotics and how prioritizing gut health could be the key to enhancing psychological well-being. 

Listen to this episode as Colette uncovers the profound impact of nurturing your gut for a happier, healthier mind.

01:20 Your psychobiome, your gut whispering to your brain

02:43 Serotonins surprising origin and its link to addictions

02:58 Mental Health has been linked to chronic inflammation

03:30 How to regulate your cravings

04:20 The importance of reducing stress

04:56 How to cultivate a healthier psychobiome

05:15 A well source probiotic

05:23 Better psychological health might begin in your gut

Referenced episode: 70. The Importance Of Novel Experiences

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Connect with Colette:

Instagram: @wellnessbycolette

Website: Wellness by Colette

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In Health,
Colette

Transcript

Welcome to today's episode of mind gut connection, where we dive deep into the fascinating world of this psycho biome. I want you to picture this billions of microorganisms residing in your gut, not just processing the food you eat, but also whispering to your brain. Yes. Whispering and sometimes demanding, you know, those sugar cravings that you get today, we're exploring how the food we consume might just be the key to unlocking mysteries surrounding mood behavior and yes, addiction.

Let's take a look into the intricate dance between our gut microbiome and the psychological health. Just imagine your gut as a bustling metropolis home to trillions of bacteria. Each with a role influencing everything from your mood to cravings. This city communicates with your brain through what we call the gut brain access, a complex network that ensures your gut and brain are constantly in conversation.

But what happens in this metropolis can sway the tide of this conversation, particularly when it comes to addiction. Let's talk about neurotransmitter production. Did you know that a large portion of serotonin, the quote, happiness chemical is produced not in your brain, but in your gut, the composition of your gut microbiome can directly influence the levels of serotonin potentially affecting the vulnerability.

to addiction. A balanced diet fostering a healthy microbiome could mean a happier, more balanced brain. Do you know what influences chronic inflammation? Most often it's our diet and gut health. It's linked to mental health challenges like depression and anxiety, which walk hand in hand with addiction by nurturing our gut.

With anti inflammatory foods, we find another pathway to reducing the addictions grip.

 Our cravings and reward system is also directly connected. The little critters in our gut can affect how our bodies regulate cravings, some more susceptible to addictive behaviors than others.

Tweaking our diets can help us adjust those cravings, steering us away from addiction and towards healthier choices. One of the biggest triggers I see in people is sugar addiction, and a lot of people swap one addiction with another instead of getting the whole body working together congruently. Giving up sugar, for example, is hard.

Did you know that studies show that sugar is more addictive than cocaine? Some give up sugar cold turkey. While others gradually slow down the consumption, adjusting our cravings naturally to go to fruits instead of candy is a great way to support a healthy reward system in our bodies. Next stress response.

Our gut state directly impacts how we respond to stress. A dysregulated stress response can leave us vulnerable to addiction. But by fostering a healthy gut microbiome, we might enhance our resilience to stress, potentially putting addiction on the back burner. Reducing stress may look like healthy boundaries, breathwork, mindfulness, regular exercise, healthy relationships, and integrating novel experiences, which I have a whole other podcast on.

What else is on the menu for a healthier psychobiome fermented foods, rich in pre and probiotics, high fiber foods, feeding those good bacteria and a diverse diet, ensuring a robust microbiome. It's not just about avoiding the illness. It's about fostering a flourishing mental and emotional state,  a well sourced probiotic.

And I'm not getting paid for this, but I'd like to share. I use Natren's Healthy Trinity and their Megadrophilus. Not all probiotics are equal. So do your research. As we wrap up today, remember the road to better psychological health might just begin in your gut. By understanding and nurturing our psychobiome, we unlock potential pathways to combating addiction and enhancing our overall wellbeing.

So the next time you sit down for a meal, Think about the bustling city within and how your choices could be a conversation with your brain. Here's to a happy eating for a happy mind. Thank you for listening. And until next time, be well.