#WorldMentalHealthDay

Did you know there are about 40,000,000,000,000 micro-organisms in your gut!

YES, I know, yikes!!

Our gut microbiome is as unique as our fingerprint. Shaped by age, diet, race, where we live, lifestyle factors, and potentially even gender.

So many factors interplay and shape our unique microbiome. But one we can lead on is what we eat!

The foods we regularly eat impact our microbiome, and over time can have a measurable effect on our gut health, well-being, and even our mental health! 

What does our gut microbiome do? 

Well, scientists are starting to understand just how much our microbiome impacts both our mood and metabolism. 

What’s clear is how important it is to take care of our gut bacteria, because it turns out they are super important for our health and mental well-being.

Did you know that our gut supports our mood by producing most of our feel-good hormones? 50% of Dopamine and up to 95% of our Serotonin is produced in the gut. 

It being #mentalhealthday today, my top tip for gut health, try decreasing your intake of ultra-processed foods and increasing your intake of ‘real’ foods and fibre. Our gut bugs loving munching on fibre so try soluble fibre think: oats, apples, avocados amongst many others, and insoluble fibre think: nuts, seeds, the skin of many vegetables.

 #mentalhealthday #mentalhealth #guthealth #gutmicrobiome