Can healing your gut really affect your mood? The short answer is yes, but let’s dive a little deeper and see how improving our gut health affects our mental health. Because “happy juice” is not just some voodoo, yummy drink but a tool to help heal your gut, ultimately improving your mood, motivation, energy and digestion.

The gut-brain axis is a two way communication system in our bodies that connects our nervous system and our enteric (or digestive) systems. Our enteric nervous system is made up of millions of nerve cells that line our GI tract from our esophagus to our rectum whose main role is to control digestion however it also communicates with our brain/nervous system. Evidence has shown that irritation in our GI tract sends signals to our brain that can trigger mood changes and thus contribute to conditions such as anxiety and depression… but how you may ask?

We have two “feel good” neurotransmitters in our body that play a role here: Dopamine and Serotonin. Dopamine contributes to our mood, memory, motivation, sleep, and attention and is part of the reward system in our bodies. When we do something that is pleasurable, dopamine is released causing us to feel good and seek more of that behavior. Serotonin helps to regulate our mood and the quality of our sleep. Approximately 50% of dopamine and 90% of serotonin are synthesized in our gut with their receptors lining our intestinal tract! By healing our gut we can significantly influence our “feel good” neurotransmitters and ultimately improve all the functions they control.

So, as I said at the top, happy juice isn’t voodoo. It serves a purpose and is a great tool to help achieve gut health and therefore mental health! It works and I’m here for it!

Love, Jessica