Microbiome and Mental Health

Primal Core Australia – Naturally Nourished Integrative Nutrition -Guest Nutritionist for Primal Core Australia and owner of Naturally Nourished Integrative Nutrition. What if I told you that you were less in control of your mental health, then you think? But also, at the same time, what if I told you that you were more in control of your mental health, then you think? Confused? … Your mental health is largely driven by a colony of trillions of microbes, but YOU can control the types of microbes that reside within you. With the internet submerging us in a sea filled with conflicting information, we are left drowning and bewildered when it comes to making informed decisions surrounding ours, and our loved ones health. With mental health concerns on the rise, now effecting 970 million people world wide (according to the latest updated figures at ourworldindata.org), informed and calculated decisions are exactly what we need now to tackle this global epidemic. So Hi. My name is Corinne. A now medicinal and integrative nutritionist, and health and life coach at Naturally Nourished (you can read more about my story here www.naturallynourished.healthcare). Not only have I collapsed at the doors of depression and severe post natal anxiety, I have stepped so close to the surrender of care of my first born, in fear of being so mentally unwell. Like many of you, I have lived in fear of hurting myself and others, and grappled with the idea that the only way out, is death. And now, with an abundance of gratitude I have for your time, I invite you to come with me on a journey in the pages below, where I will teach you what I know, and give you an armoury of tools to hack your microbiome and gut health and get you back to feeling energised, passionate, full of life and EXCITED for your days ahead, just like me. Where do we start? There is now extensive data to support the link between depression, various other mental health disorders and inflammation. This has proven that non circumstantial depression is, in fact, a SIDE EFFCT of inflammation (bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com). In cases of circumstantial depression (ie depression and anxiety as a response to external factors) inflammation and the microbiome still play a role in how well the body is able to recover from periods of excess stress and the creation and uptake of serotonin and dopamine allowing the person(s) to return to a ‘normal’ state of mental wellbeing. There are a range of factors that appear to increase the risk for the development of depression and all are associated with chronic, systemic inflammation. These factors range from Leaky Gut (permeable intestine), stress in all forms, poor diet (SAD Diet – Standard American/Australian Diet – abbreviated to SAD for a reason), lack of physical movement and exercise, obesity, smoking, dental work, sleep, breath and Vitamin D Deficiency. Chronic, systemic low-level inflammation is at the root cause of all disease and places the immune system in a chronic state of oxidative and nitrosative stress, so it’s no shock that where we see autoimmune disease, and disease in general, we also see an increase in anxiety and depression within patients. Cytokines (proteins or peptides secreted by the immune system to regulate immunity and inflammation) are now seen to induce depressive like behaviours. This is why you may have a tooth pulled, sprain an ankle, break a bone etc and experience some depressive type behaviours that tend to subside as you recover. These cytokines are also present in inflammation associated with autoimmune disease, disease, and every day conditions like psoriasis, dermatitis, eczema, asthma, hay fever and so on. All of which, have the ability to effect your mental health.

Now beginning to be referred to as the ‘psychobiome’ or the ‘second brain’; the human microbiome and the gut-brain axis (neural signals via the vagus nerve) is becoming more understood, and the links between mental health and gut dysbiosis are too strong to be ignored. Neurons are cells found within your brain and central nervous system. And they tell your body how to behave. It sends signals in both directions. Many of these neurotransmitters (of which serotonin is one) are produced by your gut cells and the trillions of microbes living there. The Human gut contains approximately 100 trillion bacteria. We hear trillions spoken about often, so much so that I don’t believe we grasp how monumental that figure actually is. “The government is 3 trillion dollars in debt” – and we go ‘oh yeah’. We rarely pay credence to just how large that figure actually is. To put this into perspective, 1,000 seconds ago was about 17 minutes ago. 1 million seconds ago, is about 12 days ago. Heres where it gets wild. 1 BILLION seconds ago, is just shy of 32 years ago, which means that 1 TRILLION seconds ago was no less than 31,709.8 YEARS ago. Now, Times that by 100. 3 million, 170 thousand, 900 years ago. The amount of bacteria in your gut if relative in seconds would be over 3 million years ago. Now, with the understanding of how much 100 trillion actually is, what do you think happens when the gut bacteria is in a state of dysbiosis? When we have more ‘bad guys’ running the village of ‘trillions’, then good guys? We end up with disrupted neuron function sending disjointed and corrupting messages to the brain, via the vagus nerve. Scarily, but also relievingly enough, this gives us the ability to alter an array of mental health conditions via diet and lifestyle manipulation. Conditions from Depression and Anxiety, to Autism, and even Parkinson’s Disease to Schizophrenia have the ability to be improved, and even completely eradicated. When we understand this information, we can begin to imagine a world where suicide rates dramatically plummet, because people understand that what they eat, the thoughts they have and how much they move their bodies effect how they feel mentally and emotionally. Imagine, for one moment, if instead of going to the doctor and being prescribed anti depressants, you were prescribed a meditation app, vitamin D supplement and probiotic and told to eat more whole foods. Imagine the change we can make in the lives of those around us, and the world, if we encouraged and supported people to make the decision to take action over their own health, and in the encouragement and support of others, experience true fulfilment ourselves, which helps our own mental health. If we decide to, we can make our life an inspiring example. And we do this by making decisions today, that drive our actions for how we are going to live tomorrow. Genetics load the gun, Diet and Lifestyle pull the trigger. A good way to understand the health of yourself in the future, is to look at your parents and those before them. If you think that you will end up like your parents, then that is B.S! ( Belief Systems). The difference in the results that people produce, comes down to what they’ve done differently, from others in the same position.

So, how do you hack your microbiome, and immune system to calm chronic systemic inflammation, resulting in improved mental function? 1 – B R E A T H E – There is a lot of focus on oxygenation of the blood. So much so, that we breathe too fast and too shallow most of the time. It is actually carbon dioxide that relaxes blood vessels and has a calming effect on the body. Work at taking 5.5 second inhales through the nose and a 5.5 second exhales through the nose to re establish rhythm, and depth of the breath, and establish good Oxygen – C02 ratio. (I highly recommend researching the Wim Hoff breathing method, and the book Breath; by James Nestor) 2 – Sleep. Sleep is essential for every function in your body. Letting your organs rest, calming the nervous system, improve concentration, maximise energy, contribute to eating fewer calories and so much more. With inadequate sleep, you’re likely to reach for high energy foods which are made of high sugar and high fat. This is because you need to get energy to function from somewhere, if you don’t get it from sleep, you’ll need it from food. 3 – Follow a nutrient dense, whole food diet, and remove gluten (research glyphosate and the microbiome for more information) (reach out to me at instagram.com/corinneleigh_nutrition OR facebook.com/naturallynourished/IN for more personalised assistance and further info on what this may look like for you) 4 – MOVE MORE. Get outside, expose your skin to sunshine for Vitamin D (with caution, of course!) Exercise. If you don’t like ‘exercising’, find a sport you enjoy, do some gardening, get the house sorted – organise the panty or kitchen draws which have been irritating you. Walk with a friend. Play on the swings at the park ( I don’t care if your 50, 60 or 100 – playing is GREAT at all ages) 5 – Meditate. During stress, changes in gut bacteria affect the regulation of neurotransmitters. Meditation helps to regulate the stress response, suppressing chronic inflammation and maintaining a healthy microbiome. 6 – Supplement with products with added collagen and gelatine such as bone broth, aloe vera juice, or www.primalcoreaustralia.com.au collagen protein powders and supplements. This will help in mending the epithelial cells of the intestinal lining (leaky gut) and if you know the state of your gut health, incorporate a probiotic for mental health. With every bite you take, and every move you make, you’re either feeding disease, or fighting it – so I ask you – is your health making you statistic? And are you digging your grave, with you teeth? Corinne Johnson BhSc Nutritional Medicine, INHC, Life Coach, NLP. Naturally Nourished Integrated Nutrition 0433 705 929 admin@naturallynourished.healthcare For more information, or support in your mental health healing journey, please reach out to me at facebook.com/naturallynourishedIN or instagram.com/ corinneleigh_nutrition – You can read more about my journey recovering from Auto Immune Disease, Cervical Cancer and Depression at www.naturallynourished.healthcare