More than one-fourth of adult Americans have mental health disorders, which often affect their moods. Believe it or not, your gut bacteria (microbiome) and overall gut health are linked to mental health, physical health, and well-being.
Optimizing gut health helps support numerous body systems, and at Liondale Medical, near the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, Lionel Bissoon, DO, can help you evaluate your gut health and maximize its composition and function.
Learn more about the gut microbiome, including seven benefits of a healthy gut, below.
Your gut microbiome describes the composition of your gut, which includes helpful (and sometimes harmful) bacteria living within your GI tract. When gut bacteria aren’t balanced, physical and mental health conditions can develop or worsen.
For example, studies found that an unhealthy gut microbiome is linked to type 2 diabetes, obesity, bowel diseases, liver disease, cancer, and other chronic conditions.
Maintaining microbiome balance and a healthy gut offers the following physical and mental health benefits:
Gut bacteria balance enhances your body’s immune system, protecting you from illness and disease. In fact, the gut contains up to 80% of the human body’s immune cells. Short-chain fatty acid byproducts of healthy gut bacteria help reduce negative inflammatory reactions within the human body.
Gut bacteria help break down the food we eat, optimizing digestive function and nutritional status. They support enzymes needed to effectively absorb vitamins and minerals, reducing your risk of nutritional deficiencies. Furthermore, good gut bacteria help prevent or eliminate bothersome GI disorder symptoms like diarrhea.
A healthy gut interacts with endocrine (hormone) cells in the gut’s lining, supporting hormone secretion that helps regulate metabolism, hunger, satiety, blood sugar, and more. Therefore, your microbiome may help improve hormone balance.
The gut microbiome affects your nervous system via the gut-brain axis. Specific gut bacteria can elevate neurotransmitter activity and enhance signals sent to your brain. Furthermore, short-chain fatty acids produced by gut bacteria have beneficial effects on nervous system function.
The gut-brain axis links gut health to the brain and mental health. Researchers found that a healthy gut microbiome helps reduce the risk of depression, bipolar disorder, and other mood disorders. Studies suggest that ingesting probiotics helps improve mood and overall mental health after just two weeks of boosting probiotics.
Having a healthy gut also reduces the risk of overweight and obesity. Researchers found that taking probiotic supplements (particularly those containing strains Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus) significantly decreased body weight, waist circumference, fat mass, and body mass index (BMI).
Based on research, a healthy gut may reduce your risk of heart disease, obesity, diabetes, respiratory diseases, inflammatory diseases, mental health disorders, digestive problems, urinary tract infections (UTIs), cancer, and other chronic conditions. Therefore, maintaining microbiome balance helps improve longevity and your quality of life.
Here are some simple ways to maximize gut bacteria balance and overall gut health:
Take advantage of the numerous anti-aging treatments and preventive care available to men and women at Liondale Medical to elevate your gut microbiome, physical health, mental health, and overall well-being.
Schedule a concierge medicine appointment today at Liondale Medical to evaluate your gut health. Simply contact us by phone or book an appointment online.
