Five Gut Health Tips from a Mental Health Registered Nurse

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Five Gut Health Tips from a Mental Health Registered Nurse

There is a strong connection between our gut health and our mental health (and vice versa). A stressed-out brain is a stressed-out gut AND a stressed-out gut is a stressed-out brain!!

There are lots of harmful and unhelpful tips out there on how to improve your gut health and mental health (e.g., harmful- eliminating foods, likely unhelpful- simply taking probiotics). Below I’ve provided strategies that are based on the best available evidence and that encourage addition rather than subtraction.

Here are five practical strategies to optimize mental health through nutrition:

1. Set aside time to nourish your brain and body with regular meals and snacks (about every 3-6 hours while awake).

   Rationale: Self-starvation, irregular eating patterns, and fasting slow down our metabolism and keep our nervous system in a hypervigilant state. This leads to delayed stomach emptying, slow digestion, and changes in bowel patterns (like constipation). In addition, our stomach and GI tract require food energy to perform their functions. Regular eating provides our bodies with energy and promotes contraction/movement of food and waste through our digestive tract.

2. Build satisfying meals and snacks that are sustaining. This usually means multiple food groups at every meal and snack. If you find yourself hungry 1-2 hours after a meal, you're probably not eating enough!

   Rationale: Satisfying, balanced meals provide our bodies with a variety of nutrients and energy. In addition, a satisfying, balanced meal helps to stabilize our blood sugar and can alleviate cycles of restriction/bingeing.

3. Experiment with variety. Variety over time matters- not every meal or snack needs to be "perfectly balanced." Have fun selecting new foods or variations on a theme!

   Rationale: A variety of foods provides our body with a variety of macronutrients and micronutrients. Omitting food groups (especially without properly supplementing essential vitamins and minerals) can lead to nutrient deficiencies. For example, cutting out animal protein can lead to deficiencies of minerals like zinc and Vitamins like B12 which are essential for the production of neurotransmitters in our brains like serotonin. Nutritional deficiencies impact our energy levels, mood, and overall mental health.

4. Be realistic about making changes. Your time, budget, obligations, commitments, levels of support, etc. matter when thinking about making changes to your pattern of eating.

   Rationale: Thoughtful preparation and implementation of changes helps us to build habits that are sustainable. When we plan for challenges and barriers ahead of time, it makes them easier to navigate.

5. Start small, build, and repeat! Trying to overhaul everything at once usually leads to frustration and overwhelm. Small steps are much more sustainable.

   Rationale: Small steps matter. When we try to overhaul everything at once our nervous system can get overwhelmed and we can shut down. It’s easy to underestimate the impact of small steps. Repetition strengthens our belief in ourselves and our abilities.