Have you ever felt irritable, restless, fatigued, had an uncontrolled worry or even had difficulty sleeping but could not explain why? Most often when it happens, you may not consider these as symptoms of anxiety.
But anxiety is the most commonly diagnosed mental health disorder and it’s mainly featured by worry, fear, and nervousness. It has negative behavioral and emotional consequences that inevitably hinder your ability to function normally.
And when left untreated it can increase the chances of other medical illnesses including heart disease. Previously, researchers cited mental condition, physical condition or drug effects to be the causes of anxiety. But new research has proven that the health of your gut plays a huge role in stress-related disorders such as anxiety.
Understanding your Gut
The intestinal/gut barrier covers a surface of about 400m² and is renewed about every 5 days. It is reinforced by factors such as mucus, antimicrobial molecules, immunoglobulin, and beneficial gut bacteria.
Gut bacteria, in particular, plays a very beneficial role in maintaining the intestinal barrier. They prevent overpopulation of the harmful type bacteria, aid in digestion and absorption of nutrients and generally help improve your mood. The health of your gut can be altered by various factors varying from your diet to medication like antibiotics or over the counter pain relievers, used over a long period of time.
When the small intestines get damaged (start to leak) due to any of these factors, they allow undigested food particles and other toxic waste to spill over through to the bloodstream.
According to studies, one known agent that majorly contributes to leaky gut is zonulin. This is a protein that causes tight junctions to open. Tight Junctions are, in simple terms, areas where membranes of two adjacent cells join together to form a barrier. When zonulin causes these barriers to open, antigens can spill over through the gut causing immune responses in the body which according to research later translate into increased anxiety and stress.
But with the new findings on gut healing for anxiety, the intervention is as exciting as is easy.
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How do you know you suffer from Leaky Gut?
Symptoms include;
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Anxiety and/ or depression
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Stomach cramps
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Bloating, gas or constipation
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Joint pains or an autoimmune disease
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Irritable Bowel Syndrome
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Inflammatory bowel disease
What can cause your Gut to Leak?
Several factors can lead to a leaky gut;
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Unhealthy diet
Foods low in fiber, but high in saturated fats and sugars and processed foods adversely affect the gut. They increase permeability by reducing the tight junction protein required to hold together.
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Strenuous Physical Workout
When you exercise for a long period of time, blood moves to the muscles and less is supplied to the stomach area. This means there is less oxygen in the gut and this causes increased permeability.
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Lectins
Lectins are proteins mostly found in grains and legumes. Studies show that they attach to the surface of the gut lining cells and interrupt the gut barrier. This causes antigens to leak into the blood activating the immune system.
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Alcohol
Alcohol can increase gut permeability up to 2 weeks after consumption. But don’t drain all your wine bottles in the sink. A glass of wine once a week is safe for a healthy (non-alcoholic) person.
Infections and Bacterial Imbalance
Harmful bacteria such as H-pylori enter the body by breaking down tight junction proteins to increase permeability. Other infections include malaria and candida. Bacterial balance ensures there is no disturbance in the gut microbiota.
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Zinc Deficiency
Zinc is required for intestinal barrier maintenance.
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Gut Healing for Anxiety.
It is almost impossible to detach ways of healing the gut without finding your way into healing anxiety. Felice Jacka in a 2009 Scandinavian data report found that there was an overall dietary pattern correlated with anxiety.
1. Foods
Make a lifestyle change by eliminating all the foods that trigger gut disorders. Remove foods that have zonulin and lectin for example grains especially wheat, starches, and sugars. Avoid saturated fats such as Omega 6 and avoid alcohol.
Replace all these harmful foods with the following beneficial foods;
Fermented food
Studies show that fermented foods with probiotics prevented gut barrier interruptions and also improved the intestinal barrier. Probiotic-rich foods include dairy such as yogurt or kefir and vegetables such as kimchi.
Broccoli sprouts
Broccoli sprouts have a high amount of sulforaphane, which is known to strengthen the gut barrier and also protect the gut from inflammation. Other vegetables rich in sulforaphane include the broccoli itself, cauliflower, kales, cabbage, and even collards.
Omega 3 fats
These are unsaturated fats, they not only heal gut inflammations but also improve the intestinal barrier function. Foods very rich in Omega 3 fats and antioxidants include mackerel, salmon, cod-liver oil, oysters, chia seeds, meats from grass-fed animals, grass-fed dairy products and even vegetables like spinach and Brussel’s sprouts.
2. Vitamins and Minerals
Ensure you are not deficient of the required vitamins and minerals. Vitamins A, B, D all play a vital role in reducing sensitivity and protecting intestinal permeability. Minerals such as zinc, iron, and magnesium are also important in maintaining tight junctions. Foods rich in all these include green leafy vegetables, tofu, dried fruits, pumpkins, carrots, watermelon, tomatoes, bananas and many more.
3. Stress management
“Psychological stress is a predisposing factor in the onset and exacerbation of gastrointestinal diseases,” studies say. This simply means if unmanaged, stress can increase intestinal permeability. Stress management may include avoiding caffeinated drinks, getting more sleep, trying relaxing techniques and also trying to manage your time.
4. Moderate workouts
Workouts such as moderate swimming of about 30 minutes a day is a great exercise for the whole body.
5. Avoid medication that weakens the gut
As indicated earlier, the use of NSAIDs highly increases intestinal permeability. Other drugs such as stomach acid suppressors also have the same adverse effect on the gut. If possible, avoid the use of such drugs.
6. Tackle infections
Address those chronic infections as soon as the symptoms appear. If left untreated they cause adverse effects on the gut.
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Conclusion
The health of your gut has more significance than often assumed because of the brain-gut axis which links emotional and cognitive centers of the brain with the peripheral intestinal functions.
What this means is that the health of your gut is central in healing anxiety as research has proven.
A healthy gut can be disrupted by an unhealthy diet, strenuous physical workouts, lectins, alcohol, infections, bacterial imbalance and deficiencies of minerals like zinc.
You will know your gut is leaky when you get symptoms like anxiety, bloating, irritable bowel syndrome, stomach cramps, and joint pains.
This, however, can be intervened by a change of lifestyle, which includes replacing unhealthy diets with beneficial foods like fermented dairy or vegetables, broccoli sprouts, omega 3 fats and sufficient intake of vitamins and minerals. Learning to manage stress, having moderate workouts, avoiding medications that affect the gut and tackling any infections as soon as symptoms appear is also important in maintaining a healthy gut.
Take away
Gut healing for anxiety is getting backed by new research every day. Take care of your gut, and your gut will take care of you.
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