How Mental Health Affects Gut Health

By Leon Vance

While the brain affects how the gut functions, in turn the gut can also influence how the brain functions. Everyone’s gut microbiota is unique to their own body, not only based on what kinds of foods they consume, but based on their experiences and living circumstances from birth through early childhood as well.

Everyone’s gut microbiota is unique to their own body, not only based on what kinds of foods they consume, but based on their experiences and living circumstances from birth through early childhood as well.  

Just like early trauma can affect a person’s mental development, childhood stress can affect how a person’s gut microbiome development. The stress inflicted on the gut can permanently change the behavior of its microbiota. These changes can cause a person to develop digestive disorders such as IBS, or an intolerance for a specific type of nutrient. 

Just like early trauma can affect a person’s mental development, childhood stress can affect how a person’s gut microbiome development.

Another similarity to mental trauma is that in adulthood, gut microbiome environments formed in early life are difficult to restructure. Thankfully, there are some methods to relieve some of the discomfort associated with these disorders, learn about these in our upcoming Gut Reset. One such method includes the consumption of probiotics, as they can provide the body gut with important microbes it may otherwise be missing. 

If the brain or the gut is individually unwell, it may lead to a negative feedback loop within the body. Reversing this process may take longer than a few days or weeks, but patience and effort produce a life-changing result.