Do you have the guts to be happy?

Do you have the guts to be happy?

What’s your gut got to do with happiness?

When you feel depressed, stressed or anxious, the chances are you don’t think that your digestive system has anything to do with it. Yet science is discovering that the gut acts like a ‘second brain’, producing substances which can affect your mood. For example, in a healthy person, the vast majority of serotonin – the feel-good neurotransmitter – is made in the digestive tract.

Ensuring your digestive system is in good shape is therefore vital to both your physical and mental health.

If your gut health is compromised, it can also cause your immune system to over-react to certain foods and generate allergic reactions. According to a study published in Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition & Metabolic Care, you can encourage this process to ‘switch off’ by increasing your intake of omega 3 fats, both from fish and from seeds such as flax and pumpkin seeds.

Weight and stress increase food reactions.

Being overweight, diabetic – or suffering with stress – also increases your likelihood of reacting against the food you eat, inhibiting its proper digestion and absorption. Likewise, if your gut has any degree of damage – often caused by everyday lifestyle practices – you are also more likely to react against your food.