Improve Mood and Digestion!

The connection between our mood and digestion is a very real thing! the gut-brain connection is a 2-way communication between the enteric and central nervous system. This links our cognitive and emotional center of the brain. When our microbiome (gut - digestion) is off we can have increased feelings of an in-balance to our mood - perhaps feelings of anxiety or depression, feeling unsettled or not able to focus clearly. When our system is working well we can have an increase in serotonin, overall joyful mood, increased dopamine. We can feel more stable, clear minded, creative, more patient, etc.

The food we consume dramatically can improve our digestion, immunity, and emotional regulation. What we digest is linked to the connection with our mind to our body.

Things that can impact digestion:

• Eating too fast - not chewing food thoroughly

• Eating in a stressful environment

• Eating between meals or too frequently

• Eating while distracted - potentially can cause overeating

Tips to improve digestion:

• Mindful eating - eating in a calm environment, paying attention to chewing before swallowing, and stopping when 80% full

• Eat at regular meal times - having a schedule that is fairly regular from day to day teaches the digestive system to expect food and turns on digestive enzymes to prep for your meal

• Keep meals simple - keeping your meals to simple whole foods (doesn’t mean flavorless) just fewer processed foods and ingredients allows digestion to be efficient - less work on the system - the more complicated ingredients or too many types of foods at one meal is putting the digestive system to work hard to break everything down

• Eat foods that make you feel good - start paying attention to the types of foods you feel energized from, give you mental and physical energy from - avoid things that make you feel lethargic or sluggish