FIR Episode 6: Can digestion make my anxiety worse?

Pre-COVID-19 studies suggest that just over a third of people will experience an episode of anxiety in their life.

In Hong Kong, an estimated 26 per cent of people have reported mental health deterioration since the pandemic began. Pandemic aside, for those with another illness, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), the prevalence of an accompanying anxiety disorder can be up to 70 per cent!

Introducing the gut-brain connection and how it is crucial in anxiety.

Ninety per cent of serotonin needed for regulating mood, behaviour and sleep, amongst a host of other functions in the central nervous system, is made in the digestive system.

“Now consider that the first option for treating anxiety within modern medicine is antidepressant therapy. Serotonin’s gut connection makes the brain and gut link hard to overstate and is often a new piece of information for my patients.”

This Free and Inspired radio episode is about helping you understand the different ways your digestion and brain interact to amplify your anxiety or create it in the first place.

For example, the interaction between dietary fibre and your digestion influences neuroinflammatory processes that cause anxiety.

It has the power to suppress the immune response that causes anxiety in the brain.

“The final metabolites (think end products) of your fibre consumption are called short-chain fatty acids (SCFA). SCFAs can cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB), affecting the central nervous system and consequently the immune system within the brain.” 

Can probiotics help with the management of anxiety?

The answer is that it certainly seems so. Philip looks at specific probiotic species that influence the chemicals in your brain that regulate anxiety and more in this packed episode.

Enjoy!