Zdrowie Jelit

Introduction
In recent years, scientists have increasingly drawn attention to a surprising connection between the gut and the brain. It turns out that our mental health may be dependent on something we rarely think about: tiny microorganisms living in our gut.

Our guts are home to trillions of bacteria that do much more than just aid digestion. New research shows that our gut bacteria can affect how we feel—including our mood, stress levels, and overall mental well-being.

In this blog post, we take a closer look at how the bacteria in your digestive system may be silently shaping your emotions and mental health — showing that a healthy gut really can mean a happier mind.

Benefits of a Healthy Gut Microbiome
When the bacteria in your gut are balanced and diverse, they can significantly support your overall health. Here’s how a healthy gut can help:

• Improved nutrient absorption¹
• Drug and toxin metabolism¹
• Maintaining gut barrier integrity¹
• Regulating the immune system¹
• Protection against pathogens¹

The Brain-Gut Connection
The brain-gut connection is how your brain and gut “talk” to each other. They’re constantly sending messages to each other via nerves, hormones, and even tiny bacteria that live in your gut. This powerful connection—often called the gut-brain axis—helps explain why your stomach might hurt when you’re stressed, or why your mood might change based on what you eat.²

The Gut-Brain Axis: A Two-Way Communication System
The gut-brain axis is a two-way communication system that connects your brain to your gut. It’s like a constant conversation between the two, conducted via nerves, hormones, and even your immune system.

Your gut is home to what’s known as the enteric nervous system—often called your “second brain.” It’s made up of millions of nerve cells and can function on its own, without your brain’s help. This “second brain” also produces many of the same mood-boosting chemicals, such as serotonin and dopamine, which play key roles in regulating mood and emotions.²

How Your Gut Affects Your Mood?
New research shows that the bacteria in our gut can have a huge impact on our mental and emotional well-being:

Producing neuroactive compounds
Gut bacteria produce special chemicals that can affect how our brains function and how we feel. For example, some of these bacteria produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which help reduce inflammation in the brain and support better mental health.³

2.     Changes in gut microbiota composition
Studies have shown that people with mental health problems, such as depression, often have a different composition of gut bacteria than those without. For example, people with depression tend to have lower gut bacterial diversity and lack certain beneficial strains, such as Coprococcus and Dialister .³

3.     Regulating Your Stress Response
Your gut microbiome affects how your body handles stress by working with a system called the HPA axis. When your gut bacteria are balanced, they can help regulate your stress response and reduce your risk of stress-related mental health problems.³

Diet and the Gut Microbiome
What we eat has a huge impact on the bacteria in our gut — which, in turn, can affect our mental and emotional well-being:

Probiotics and prebiotics
Eating foods that contain good bacteria (probiotics) and foods that support their growth (prebiotics) can improve your gut health and boost your mood. Fermented foods like yogurt, kimchi, and sauerkraut are great sources of probiotics, while fiber-rich foods like oatmeal, fruits, and vegetables provide prebiotics.⁴

2.     Mediterranean diet
Studies have shown that following a Mediterranean diet—rich in fruits, vegetables, healthy fats (like olive oil), and lean proteins—can support gut health and improve mental well-being.⁵ 

3.     Processed Foods and Mental Health
Eating a lot of processed foods and sugary snacks can disrupt the balance of bacteria in your gut, which can lead to inflammation and negatively impact your mental health.⁶

Beyond Diet: Lifestyle Factors That Affect Gut Health
While what we eat is very important, other aspects of our lifestyle – such as sleep, exercise and stress levels – also affect our gut health and our mental well-being:

Stress Management
Chronic stress can harm the good bacteria in your gut. But practices like meditation and therapies—like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)—can boost your mood and support a healthier balance of gut bacteria.⁷

2.     Physical activity
Regular exercise can improve your mood and gut health. It increases the diversity of good bacteria in your gut and helps your digestive system function better by keeping your intestinal muscles active.⁷

3.     Sleep Quality
Getting enough sleep is key to maintaining healthy gut bacteria. Poor sleep can disrupt this balance, which can affect mood and the ability to concentrate.⁷

Case Studies
Study 1: Probiotics and Depression
Eighteen high-quality studies examined how probiotics affected symptoms of depression, involving a total of 1,401 people. When the results were combined, the researchers found that probiotics significantly helped reduce symptoms of depression. This suggests that probiotics may be a helpful additional treatment for people with depression, showing promising results in supporting the link between gut health and mental health.⁸

Struggling with bloating, gas, or sluggish digestion? Give your gut the love it deserves with Microbiome Support —a powerful blend of natural ingredients, including turmeric and ferula asafoetida, known for their soothing and balancing effects on the gut. This plant-based formula can help restore harmony to your digestive system, leaving you feeling lighter, more energized, and in control again.

Conclusion
The growing interest in gut and brain research is changing the way we understand mental health. Scientists now know that the link between our gut and mood is not just a saying—it’s backed up by real science. The bacteria in our gut and brain are intimately connected and can influence each other in powerful ways.
By taking care of our gut—through a healthy diet, stress management, regular exercise, and possibly probiotics—we can support both our mental and physical health. As research continues to advance, we may even see new treatments for mental disorders that focus on improving gut health.
While there’s still a lot to learn, one thing is clear: good mental health often starts in the gut.

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Reference

1.Sai Manasa Jandhyala. Role of the normal gut microbiota. World Journal of Gastroenterology [Internet]. 2015 Jan 1 [cited 2025 Apr 12];21(29):8787–7. Available from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4528021/

2.Min-Gyu Gwak, Chang SY. Gut-Brain Connection: Microbiome, Gut Barrier, and Environmental Sensors. Immune Network [Internet]. 2021 Jan 1 [cited 2025 Apr 12];21(3). Available from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8263213/

3.More. More Than a Gut Feeling: How Your Microbiome Affects Your Mood | Cognitive Enhancement [Internet]. Lifestyle Medicine. 2024 [cited 2025 Apr 12]. Available from: https://longevity.stanford.edu/lifestyle/2024/04/08/more-than-a-gut-feeling-how-your-microbiome-affects-your-mood/

4.NIH. Office of Dietary Supplements - Probiotics [Internet]. Nih.gov. 2025 [cited 2025 Apr 12]. Available from: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Probiotics-HealthProfessional/

5.Ventriglio A, Federica Sancassiani, Contu MP, Latorre M, Slavatore MD, Fornaro M, et al. Mediterranean Diet and its Benefits on Health and Mental Health: A Literature Review. Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health [Internet]. 2020 Jul 30 [cited 2025 Apr 12];16(1):156–64. Available from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7536728/

6.Lane MM, Gamage E, Nikolaj Travica, Thusharika Dissanayaka, Ashtree DN, Gauci S, et al. Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Mental Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies. Nutrients [Internet]. 2022 Jun 21 [cited 2025 Apr 12];14(13):2568–8. Available from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9268228/

7.Madison A, Kiecolt-Glaser JK. Stress, depression, diet, and the gut microbiota: human–bacteria interactions at the core of psychoneuroimmunology and nutrition. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences [Internet]. 2019 Aug [cited 2025 Apr 12];28:105–10. Available from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7213601/

 8.Asad A, Kirk M, Zhu S, Dong X, Gao M. Effects of Prebiotics and Probiotics on Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety in Clinically Diagnosed Samples: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Nutrition Reviews [Internet]. 2024 Dec 28 [cited 2025 Apr 12]; Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39731509/