Probiotics Benefits For Healthy Gut Brain Connection:
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The way everything you go about doing each day relates to health. Right from when you start your day, till you shut your eye, health has a major role to play. How does food get absorbed into the system, and how food affects your mood? The digestive juices break down the food and absorb the nutrients mixed in the blood. But there’s more to this process, learn the benefits of probiotics and there is a strong gut-brain connection. Not only probiotics there are other foods too, some foods that reduce stress and some brain foods to have at the moment of stress to calm down.
When we breathe, we inhale air and a lot along with it, including bacteria. Likewise, when we eat, we take the bacteria into our gut. Basically, bacteria live on us, and in us. But the good news is, that bacteria are not always bad. There are good bacteria too, which are practically essential for survival. Mutualism, which means both humans and bacteria are benefitting from living together.
Does Gut Health Affect Mental Health?
The human body is home to almost a hundred trillion good bacteria that primarily live in the gut. You must have heard the term ‘probiotic’. Probiotics are living organisms that are live bacteria or yeast that are good for the body, especially for the digestive system. Now to understand how probiotics work, you need to first know how the gut works.
The job of the gut is to:
- Extract Energy
- Absorb Nutrients
- Remove Waste
The good bacteria/probiotics absorb nutrients from food, improve immune function, and support gut integrity. As a natural response to a healthy gut, the mind is relaxed and there’s no room for irregular bowel issues or problems associated with the gut. A healthy gut makes one feel energetic and happy, but the big question is how are the gut and mind connected, and what is the mechanism that stimulates mental wellbeing through the gut.
Gut Mind Connection:
It’s difficult to believe that you can handle mood swings and stress by altering the bacteria in your gut. Nonetheless, research and studies have shown that good bacteria can control your psychological health. In fact, they can also control your appetite to a large extent. This happens because the gut is connected to the mind through chemicals called neurotransmitters which control emotions and feelings.
Psychobiotics Definition:
Including probiotic foods in your diet can benefit in producing neurotransmitters that elevate your happy hormones, and restrict the downfall of your emotions. If you are someone who’s already suffering from depression, anxiety, or heavy mood fluctuations; having probiotics can calm your angry gut. Some of these supplementary foods are known as “psychobiotic’.
However, there’s no rule that you must be clinically diagnosed with psychological problems. Even a simple low-mood or extreme stress that you might be dealing with is enough to benefit from consuming psychobiotic foods.
Probiotics Benefits:
Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that help to keep the digestive system healthy, by ensuring proper digestion of food and absorption of nutrients. They protect us from ‘bad’ bacteria that spread infection and escalate weight gain and sugar cravings. Here are some probiotics benefits you should know to keep your gut-brain connection healthy.
- Probiotics make it difficult for infection-causing bacteria to get a foothold in your body.
- Probiotic bacteria in the gut produce chemical compounds such as bacteriocins and hydrogen peroxide that prevent the growth of bad bacteria.
- Probiotic foods keep lining your gut with good bacteria.
- The good bacteria in your gut provide a constant energy supply to function properly.
- Probiotic bacteria keep your immune system balanced.
- Good bacteria help you absorb minerals like zinc, calcium, and magnesium better than normal, which helps maintain a healthy gut ecosystem.
Psychobiotic Foods:
This psychobiotic food pyramid helps you maintain a healthy gut-brain connection keeping you away from psychological ailments.
Best probiotic foods sources include sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, kefir, yogurt, paneer, buttermilk, dhokla, idli, and pickled vegetables.
So, fill your diet with prebiotic elements (fiber foods) and get your gut back in action.
