Top tips for supporting mood and microbiome

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By Brittany Vargas

The holiday season brings opportunities for fun and connection alongside stress and disrupted routines, making it an important time to support the gut microbiome, according to Robert Silverman, DC, MS, CNS, nutritionist and gut health expert in Westchester, N.Y.

When our gut microbiome is out of balance, a term known as “dysbiosis,” or when gut permeability becomes compromised (known as “leaky gut”), it can negatively affect our mental and emotional states.

“Bacteria are key players in your mood and mental health,” said Silverman. “They can relieve symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, but they also can make them worse.”

According to Silverman, though research has not yet confirmed, there are an estimated 1,000 species of bacteria in the gut. Additionally, there are 20 million bacteria genes at play within the human gut microbiome versus 20,000 human genes.

“There are more bacteria than cells in your body,” said Silverman, “so if you think about it, we are 90 percent bacteria.”

While the gut-brain connection and its impact on mood are still in the early stages of scientific understanding, there is a clear link between poor gut health and low mood, according to Lyn-Genet Recitas, NMT, HHP, nutritionist specializing in inflammatory foods in Westchester, N.Y. 

She noted that the majority of serotonin is produced in the gut and said that “as soon as we start disrupting gut function, we’re setting ourselves up to be depressed.”

This is supported by clinical research, such as a 2015 study in Journal of Clinical Psychiatry that found recurrent antibiotic exposure, which diminishes the health of the gut microbiome, is associated with an increased risk for depression and anxiety.

How the microbiome affects mood

The gut microbiome influences our brains and moods in several ways, both direct and indirect, said Silverman. Directly, gut microbes emit substances that travel to the brain via blood vessels. They also impact the vagus nerve, the bidirectional highway on the gut-brain axis, via neuropod cells in the gut lining. Indirectly, gut bacteria influence our hormones, immune system, and inflammatory processes, all of which affect our brain and, in turn, our mental health.

“I like to tell all my patients that when your gut’s on fire, your brain’s on fire,” said Silverman. “When the gut and the brain are on fire, there are typically no symptoms of pain since the brain has no pain receptors and the inner lining of the GI tract and colon have no pain fibers.”

While an inflamed gut and brain won’t cause pain, they will cause bloating followed immediately by brain fog, which is the result of reduced nerve conduction, he said.

“This brain fog will change your mood without question and can lead you down a path to possible depression,” he said.

Another way the state of the gut affects mood is the result of changes to serotonin production. According to Silverman, 93 percent to 95 percent of serotonin is produced in the gut, and when the microbiome is compromised, as it is with dysbiosis, it can disrupt the creation of this crucial neurotransmitter.

According to a 2020 paper in Biological Reviews, the exact mechanisms by which the gut microbiome impacts mental health are still being elucidated, with several studies showing conflicting information. Nevertheless, the authors point out that studies on psychobiotics — a class of probiotics that are designed to enhance neurotransmitter production and thus improve mood — have consistently been shown to be effective.

Keeping the microbiome healthy during the busy season

Stress levels and lifestyle choices made during the holidays can take a toll on the gut microbiome, which can, in turn, affect mental health, leading to a negative feedback loop, said Recitas.

“One of the biggest factors disrupting gut function is inflammation,” she said. “And that means stress, that means holiday parties, that means that an extra serving of turkey or two extra Mai Tais.”

To avoid compromising the microbiome, Silverman said suggest patients maintain consistent health routines such as getting enough sleep, exercising, and incorporating calming activities.

“I always ask during the holiday season, ‘what have you done for your health savings account today?’” he said.

He also noted that psychobiotics can be beneficial to prescribe to patients. To get the best results, they should be combined with the appropriate prebiotics, which will create a synergistic effect.

When it comes to diet, Recitas, whose expertise lies in identifying and eliminating inflammatory foods for individuals, recommends avoiding inflammatory foods, but notes that sometimes so-called “healthy foods” can be inflammatory for certain people.

“Inflammatory and non-inflammatory foods are different for everyone,” she said. “But if you ever feel bloated or gassy after a meal, that’s a sign that something that you ate in that meal isn’t working for your body. You can start to draw parallels [between food and effect] — if every time you eat cauliflower, you feel bloated, you might switch to eating something else.”

According to Silverman, there are certain foods or substances that are known to negatively impact the gut and that should be reduced or avoided, such as processed sugar, emulsifiers, additives, gluten, alcohol, and dairy, which is one of the worst foods for your gut.

Additionally, the way both practitioners and patients approach the holidays and whether we cave into stress or not will make a big difference, said Silverman.

“The holiday season should not be stressful,” he said. “Enjoy it. Let’s keep our stress down. This might mean listening to your [breathwork] app in the morning, meditating, doing yoga, going for a walk, or taking five minutes with your cup of coffee to just chill out.”