The Mind-Gut Connection: How the Hidden Conversation Within Our Bodies Impacts Our Mood, Our Choices, and Our Overall Health

by Emeran Mayer

Over the years I’ve seen many patients with complex, seemingly unexplainable symptoms, and one of the important lessons I’ve learned is to listen to their stories in an unbiased way—no

no matter how odd they may sound, and no matter how poorly they fit into current scientific dogma.

Inside the cells of neglected rat pups, enzymes attached chemical tags called methyl groups to their DNA. This mode of inheritance is called epigenetic,

Catastrophizing is also a common trait in patients suffering from depression or chronic pain, whose attention is narrowed to only negative stimuli.

also a valuable skill for impulsive adolescents to practice). The ultimate dogma of modern society is to make rational decisions based on the assumption that the world is linear and predictable, and that if you have enough information about the world, you can make the best decisions.

composition of breast milk is crucially dependent on the diet the mother consumes.

composition of the nursing mother’s diet has a major influence on the baby’s risk for metabolic disease and obesity later on in life, and much of this is mediated by the early programming of the baby’s gut microbiota.

Once they reach their target, they nourish beneficial microbiota, in particular Bifidobacterium species that are able to partially break them down into short-chain fatty acids and other metabolites.

These breakdown products create an environment favoring the growth of good microbes over potential pathogens.

Bifidobacterium infantis

Thus HMOs are essential to the development of a healthy infant microbiome, and for the temporary protection against intestinal infections, at a time when the infant’s microbiome has a low diversity (made up of a limited number of microbial groups and species) and is not ready yet to defend effectively against infections.

Microorganisms like Ruminococcus bromii are known in ecological parlance as a “keystone species,” as they carry out activities that are essential for the ecosystem as a whole to function optimally.

the basic dietary pattern is characterized by high consumption of monounsaturated fatty acids—primarily from olive oil—as well as daily consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole-grain cereals, low-fat dairy products, and moderate amounts of red wine; weekly consumption of fish, poultry, nuts, and legumes; and low and infrequent consumption of red meat.

If there is one personal characteristic that stands out among all of them, it is their curiosity and excitement about all things in life, their positive view of the world, and their unwillingness to be bogged down by negative people or events.

have limited time and energy for a fulfilling social life. They often experience poor sleep, loss of energy, symptoms of fatigue, and recurrent aches and pains in their bodies, in particular low back pain and headaches.

Such predisease states can be viewed as the consequences of the wear and tear on the body (the so-called allostatic load), which increases over time when a person experiences repeated minor stressors or is under constant, chronic stress.

It plays a major role in increasing your waistline, and recent data has shown that processed meat, which has a particularly high fat content, enhances your risk of developing several types of malignancies, including cancers of the breast, colon, and prostate.

in addition to eating moderate quantities of meats low in fat, mainly from fish and poultry, increase your intake of food items that contain multiple prebiotics in the form of different plant fibers, a combination of food items that we know today leads to greater gut microbial diversity.

try to avoid extreme diets that limit the natural variety of foods, in particular plant-based food items.

Buy only things in the market that look like food. If they don’t, they most likely will contain food additives that could harm your brain, including artificial sweeteners, emulsifiers, fructose corn syrup, and vital gluten, to name just a few.

prudent to maximize your regular intake of fermented food products and all types of probiotics to maintain gut microbial diversity, especially during times of stress, antibiotic intake, and old age. All

kimchi, sauerkraut, kombucha, and miso,

In fact, full-blown inflammation during pregnancy is a major risk factor for brain diseases such as autism and schizophrenia, and low-grade inflammation from a mother’s high-fat diet may be sufficient to adversely affect the fetal brain development in more subtle ways.

This limits the calories you consume, keeping the amount in line with your body’s metabolic needs, and simultaneously reduces your fat intake.

prolonged fasting may have positive impact on brain functions and well-being.

Don’t eat when you are stressed, angry, or sad.

I guess this applies to me most of all

If you are not mindful of the stress or other negative emotions in your body, it can lead you into seeking comfort food, even though such food is unhealthy.

For these reasons, scan your body and mind and tune in to your emotions before you sit down to eat something. If you are stressed, anxious, or angry, try to avoid adding food to the turmoil in your gut.

After scanning your body and becoming aware of how you feel, try to switch to a positive emotional state and experience the difference this shift has on your overall well-being. Various

reduce the negative biasing influence of thoughts and memories on these feeling states.

nonjudgmental attention to experiences in the present moment.”

learn to focus and sustain your attention in the present moment, improve your ability to regulate your emotions, and develop a greater self-awareness.

A key element of mindfulness meditation is learning to become more aware of these bodily sensations, including the sensations associated with deep abdominal breathing, and with the state of your digestive system.

Aerobic exercise has well-documented beneficial effects on brain structure and function, ranging from a reduction in the age-related decline in thickness of the cerebral cortex, to improved cognitive function and reduced stress responsiveness.

Aim to maximize gut microbial diversity by maximizing regular intake of naturally fermented foods and probiotics.

Reduce the inflammatory potential of your gut microbiota by making better nutritional choices.

Cut down on animal fat in your diet.

Avoid, whenever possible, mass-produced, processed food and select organically grown food.

Eat smaller servings at meals.

prenatal nutrition.

Reduce stress and practice mindfulness. • Avoid eating when you are stressed, angry, or sad. • Enjoy the secret pleasures and social aspects of food. • Become an expert in listening to your gut feelings.