How that gut feeling is fueling your brain
Gut Health & Energy
The Secret Link Between the Gut Microbiome and Energy Levels
Ever felt a surge of energy after a really satisfying meal? Or maybe a slump after indulging something less-than-healthy? These experiences might not be mere coincidences. Your gut microbiome, a complex ecosystem of trillions of bacteria, plays a pivotal role in regulating your energy levels.
Beyond digestion, the gut microbiome interacts with your brain, influencing your mood, cognition, and overall vitality. By understanding this gut-brain connection and nurturing your gut health, you can unlock your full energy potential.
Let's dive deeper into how your gut microbiome can fuel your mind for peak performance.
The Gut-Brain Axis
Before we get into the gut microbiome and how it affects your energy, and brain health, we need to back up a bit.
The gut-brain axis is a bi-directional communication system that connects the gut to the brain. This complex network influences our mood, cognition, and energy levels. The enteric nervous system (in the gut) is constantly communicating with the brain . Emerging research has shown that the gut microbiome plays a significant role in modulating these processes.
How Gut Health Impacts Brain Health
Gut health, and microbiome makeup, is integral to overall health, especially brain health.
You’ve probably heard that 95% of the body’s serotonin is stored in the gut. Serotonin plays a role in the gut-brain axis: it’s needed for contractions to move food through the digestive system; sleep, appetite, pain, mood, and overall wellbeing. Serotonin-containing cells in the upper digestive tract are responsible for the reaction to toxins or pathogens entering the digestive system. This gut feeling forces evacuation of said toxins to keep you safe.
Here’s a few ways that the gut and brain work together:
Neurotransmitter Production: Gut bacteria produce neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and dopamine, which regulate mood, motivation, and cognitive function.
Inflammation: An imbalance in gut bacteria can lead to chronic inflammation, which has been linked to various neurological conditions, including depression and cognitive decline.
Stress Response: The gut microbiome interacts with the stress response system, influencing how our bodies react to stress.
The Gut Microbiome & Metabolism
Metabolism is the conversion of food into energy through the digestive process (catabolic reaction = breaking down to release energy). Gut bacteria further absorb nutrients and produce metabolites, necessary for energy.
Nutrient Absorption: Gut bacteria play a crucial role in breaking down food and absorbing nutrients. An imbalance in the gut microbiome can lead to nutrient deficiencies, affecting energy production.
Energy Metabolism: Gut bacteria produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which are essential for energy metabolism. SCFAs can influence insulin sensitivity, glucose regulation, and overall energy levels.
The Gut Microbiome & Stress
How we handle stress affects our body’s energy levels. After a really hard day at work, you’re probably exhausted. Or family drama might make you so tired that you sleep longer than usual (well, hopefully). We do still need stress hormones, such as cortisol. But a disrupted gut microbiome can lend itself to a disruption in the release of cortisol - too much, not enough.
Stress Hormones: The gut microbiome can influence the production of stress hormones, such as cortisol. Chronic stress can disrupt the gut microbiome, leading to a vicious cycle of stress and low energy.
Stress Resilience: A healthy gut microbiome can help regulate the stress response, making individuals more resilient to stress-related fatigue.
The Gut Microbiome & Sleep
Getting the right amount of sleep is healthy for a variety of reasons and your energy is probably best after you’ve had ample sleep. But a bad night of sleep can impact the gut microbiome and further affect your energy stores, and circadian rhythm - this becomes a vicious cycle.
Sleep Disorders: An imbalance in gut bacteria has been linked to sleep disorders, such as insomnia. Poor sleep quality can significantly impact energy levels.
Sleep-Wake Cycle: The gut microbiome may influence the body's circadian rhythm, which regulates sleep-wake cycles.
How to Nurture the Gut-Microbiome
Ensure that you’re looking after your gut microbiome in a few ways:
Incorporate Gut-Supporting Foods:
Fermented Foods: Yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, and kimchi are excellent sources of probiotics, which can help restore balance to the gut microbiome.
Fiber-Rich Foods: Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes provide fiber, which is essential for feeding beneficial gut bacteria.
Prebiotic Foods: Onions, garlic, and asparagus contain prebiotics, which promote the growth of healthy gut bacteria.
2. Nurturing Your Gut Microbiome:
Probiotics: Aside from fermented foods, work with your nutritionist to find a probiotic that works for you. This can be especially crucial if you’ve had many bouts of antibiotics in your life.
Limit Processed Foods: Reduce your intake of processed foods, which can disrupt the gut microbiome and detract all the work you’re doing on healing your gut.
Manage Stress: Chronic stress can negatively impact gut health. Practice stress management techniques like HeartMath, meditation, yoga, or deep breathing.
Adequate Sleep: Getting enough sleep impacts more than just your energy levels, you can regulate body rhythms and metabolism.
By nurturing your gut microbiome, you can improve your brain health and boost your energy levels. A healthy gut-brain connection is essential for optimal cognitive function, mood regulation and overall well-being.
References
Ghosh, T. S., Shanahan, F., & O’Toole, P. W. (2022). The gut microbiome as a modulator of healthy ageing. Nature Reviews. Gastroenterology & Hepatology, 19(9), 565–584. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-022-00605-x
Guetterman, H. M., Huey, S. L., Knight, R., Fox, A. M., Mehta, S., & Finkelstein, J. L. (2022). Vitamin B-12 and the gastrointestinal microbiome: A systematic review. Advances in Nutrition (Bethesda, Md.), 13(2), 530–558. https://doi.org/10.1093/advances/nmab123
Montenegro, J., Armet, A. M., Willing, B. P., Deehan, E. C., Fassini, P. G., Mota, J. F., Walter, J., & Prado, C. M. (2023). Exploring the influence of gut microbiome on energy metabolism in humans. Advances in Nutrition (Bethesda, Md.), 14(4), 840–857. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advnut.2023.03.015
Rowland, I., Gibson, G., Heinken, A., Scott, K., Swann, J., Thiele, I., & Tuohy, K. (2017). Gut microbiota functions: metabolism of nutrients and other food components. European Journal of Nutrition, 57(1), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-017-1445-8
