As a psychiatrist, I spend a lot of time talking to patients about their thoughts, feelings, relationships, and life stressors. But there’s another surprising source of mental health issues: your gut.
That might sound strange coming from someone who treats depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions. But the gut—specifically the community of microbes living inside it—plays a much bigger role in mental health than we once realized. Understanding the link between our gut health and mental health is a growing field of research with real implications for how we understand and treat psychiatric conditions.
Colorado Springs is a health-conscious city. An emphasis on outdoor activity, healthy eating, and a strong sense of community are part of the shared culture of the Colorado Springs and Monument areas. Even so, many patients are surprised to learn how their mental health may be impacted by their gut health.
Let’s talk about why what happens in your gut doesn’t stay in your gut—and how your diet and gut health may affect your mood, stress response, and even cognitive function.
The Gut-Brain Connection
The gut and brain are constantly talking to each other. This communication happens through what scientists call the “gut-brain axis,” a two-way communication system involving the vagus nerve, immune signaling, and neurotransmitters. It’s how your brain knows when your stomach is empty. It’s also the reason why stress and anxiety can lead to digestive issues.
The microbiome—the trillions of bacteria, viruses, and fungi that live in your gut—plays a central role in this conversation. These microbes help digest food, regulate the immune system, and produce neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and GABA, which affect mood and anxiety.
In fact, about 90% of the body’s serotonin, often called the “feel-good” chemical, is produced in the gut (Gershon & Tack, Gastroenterology, 2007). The gut doesn’t just influence the brain chemically; it actually helps make the chemicals that regulate your mood.
Microbes and Mental Health
There’s growing scientific evidence linking gut microbiome imbalances—called dysbiosis—to depression and anxiety.
A 2017 review in Current Psychiatry Reports found that individuals with depression often have reduced microbial diversity and a different composition of gut bacteria compared to those without depression (Clarke et al., 2017).
Another study published in Nature Microbiology examined the gut microbiomes of over 1,000 people and found that two types of bacteria—Coprococcus and Dialister—were consistently depleted in individuals with depression (Valles-Colomer et al., 2019).
Anxiety has also been linked to gut health. In animal studies, transferring the gut microbiota from anxious mice to germ-free mice caused the germ-free mice to display anxious behavior. While we can’t directly transfer findings from mice to humans, it points to a powerful connection between gut health and mental health.
What This Means for Your Mental Health
So what does this all mean? Before we get into recommendations for gut health, I want to be clear that improving gut health is not a replacement for psychotherapy, medication, TMS, ketamine therapy, or other mental health treatments available at Colorado Recovery Solutions.
But actions aimed at improving your gut microbiome may be a valuable part of your mental health care plan, along with the treatments listed above. With that being said, here are a few practical ways you can build a healthier gut-brain connection:
Eat more fiber.
Fiber feeds the good bacteria in your gut. Aim for more fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, and seeds in your diet.
Include fermented foods.
Yogurt with live cultures, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, and kombucha are all sources of natural probiotics. A 2021 study in Cell showed that a diet rich in fermented foods increased microbiome diversity and decreased markers of inflammation (Wastyk et al., 2021).
Limit ultra-processed foods.
You’ve probably heard the same advice from your medical doctor, but now hear it from a mental health doctor: highly processed foods, especially those high in added sugars, refined carbs, and artificial additives are bad for your health. In this context, specifically, they have a detrimental effect on a healthy gut microbiome. They’re also linked to higher rates of depression and anxiety.
Manage stress.
Chronic stress can disrupt the gut microbiome and increase gut permeability (sometimes called “leaky gut”). Practices like mindfulness, regular exercise, and adequate sleep can help protect both your brain and your gut.
Ways to Improve Mental Health
It should be clear by now that your mental health isn’t just in your head. It’s connected to your body—your sleep, movement, relationships, and yes, even your gut all have an impact on positive mental health.
At Colorado Recovery Solutions, we encourage patients to take a comprehensive approach to mental health issues like depression, anxiety, and PTSD. The treatments we offer, such as TMS and ketamine therapy, produce amazing results for our patients. They are important components of a patient’s care plan. But other factors, including diet, exercise, sleep, or alcohol and drug use also play a large role in our mental health.
As an integrative mental health center, we address these factors and more as part of a comprehensive care plan. If you’re interested in exploring this further, bring it up at your next appointment. Nutrition isn’t always the first topic in psychiatry, but it absolutely deserves a place in the conversation.
About Colorado Recovery Solutions
Colorado Recovery Solutions is the premier psychiatry practice in Colorado Springs and Monument. With four locations in Monument and Colorado Springs, we are conveniently located and accessible throughout the greater Colorado Springs area. We offer expert psychiatry combined with the latest technology and treatments to deliver a superior patient experience and outcomes unlike any other.
To schedule an appointment, fill out our appointment request form or call us at 719-622-6522.
References:
· Gershon, M. D., & Tack, J. (2007). The serotonin signaling system: from basic understanding to drug development for functional GI disorders. Gastroenterology, 132(1), 397-414.
· Clarke, G. et al. (2017). Minireview: Gut microbiota: the neglected endocrine organ. Current Psychiatry Reports, 19(11), 1-7.
· Valles-Colomer, M. et al. (2019). The neuroactive potential of the human gut microbiota in quality of life and depression. Nature Microbiology, 4(4), 623–632.
· Ng, Q. X. et al. (2018). A meta-analysis of the use of probiotics to alleviate depressive symptoms. Psychosomatic Medicine, 80(5), 432-440.
· Wastyk, H. C. et al. (2021). Gut-microbiota-targeted diets modulate human immune status. Cell, 184(16), 4137-4153.e14.
