I'm really glad to see that science is beginning to confirm what I suspected as a result of my personal experience. Our gut health affects our mental health. Check out this article from NPR.
I have noticed this personally as I was on the Body Ecology (candida elimination and gut health) diet. At each stage I noticed a variety of symptoms both physically and mentally as my body adjusted to the changes in diet and adding in more probiotics.
The Body Ecology Diet has a few different key components:
1. Eliminating Sugars (which feed bad bacteria). This includes eliminating simple carbs, breads, yeasts, gluten and checking labels to avoid not only table sugar, but also sugar content. Once I started reading labels I was amazed at how much sugar is contained in even supposed "health foods".
2. Actively cleaning the body of the Candida yeast and other negative bacteria, with anti-fungals. There are a number of anti-fungal foods and supplements that are readily available. Here are a few: Coconut oil, Garlic, Caprylic Acid, Olive Leaf extract, Oregano Oil, Pau D'Arco. There are many more too, just google candida yeast cleansing and you'll find a ton.
3. Adding in probiotics to your diet. These come in different forms; capsules, fermented foods (cultured vegetables) or drinks (Kevita or Kefirs).
At each stage of this process, I have noticed some key things that I want to share here:
1. During the "Candida killing" phases I noticed a definite correlation to my moods and in my case, anxiety. So, my anxiety actually got worse temporarily during these phases. With each phase though, I began to feel progressively better. Why do the symptoms get worse? Because when the dead yeast cells enter the bloodstream this causes a temporary increase in symptoms. This is called the Herxheimer reaction.
The process of going through these phases for me went something like this: a. Kick up the anti-fungals, b. Notice an increase in anxiety or other negative moods, c. feel better (experience a new level of clarity, joy etc..). The important thing to remember if you are doing this is that you can always back off on the anti-fungals to allow yourself time to physically and mentally adjust. I think it's best to look at this as a very long term process that is approached in phases. Depending on your situation, this may be a process that takes a year, or even several years. Trying to go too fast can be unpleasant.
I have also found that meditation and yoga have helped immensely in learning to cope with these phases. Why?
Meditation has helped to train my mind to experience the emotions with out necessarily feeling the need to react to them. Realizing that these thoughts are not "me" is helpful in simply observing them pass (like a dark cloud across the sky) without feeling the need to react to them.
Yoga helps to support the meditative ideas above, but also has given me some tools for dealing with stress in the body. In short, yoga has helped me to get to know my body and the energies that flow through my physical body that are attached to my mental functioning. This helps with short circuiting the mental stress BEFORE it makes it's way into my body. Once the stress has reached the physical level in can become a feedback loop. (i.e. I am stressed mentally (anxious or depressed)--->Now I FEEL stressed physically--->this stress must be REAL---> repeat ad infinitum with growing intensity.)
There are all levels of yoga no matter where you are in your physical conditioning. It's real, it's helpful and it can really help you feel good!!
Here are some links to other articles regarding our gut health and mental health.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/11/18/244526773/gut-bacteria-might-guide-the-workings-of-our-minds
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/changing-gut-bacteria-through-245617.aspx
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23784606
http://www.examiner.com/article/mental-disorders-and-the-candida-connection
http://voices.yahoo.com/could-mental-illness-actually-physical-6404292.html?cat=5
http://www.newswithviews.com/Howenstine/james16.htm
http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/1997/10.30/GeneticSecretso.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21485746
VIDEO:
http://www.ted.com/talks/bonnie_bassler_on_how_bacteria_communicate.html
I also highly recommend getting Donna Gate's Book:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Body-Ecology-Diet-Recovering/dp/1401935435
For my other blog articles on this topic click here.
For sound downloads click here.
Just a personal note: There is nothing new under the sun. I am just attempting to present info. here that has helped me. I hope to present it in a clear way based on my experience with anxiety which was a spiritual, psychological and emotional awakening for me. In retrospect of this experience I have been reading as much as I could to come to a deeper and more grounded understanding of this seemingly mystical thing that happened to me (so that I could share it with you). I'm not a doctor or a scientist. Please know this is only my experience. Yours will obviously be different, but since my experience was so similar to others I've talked to, I am hoping this may be helpful or useful to you in some way. It's also a way that I hope to share the love with you. That is my purpose here.
I have noticed this personally as I was on the Body Ecology (candida elimination and gut health) diet. At each stage I noticed a variety of symptoms both physically and mentally as my body adjusted to the changes in diet and adding in more probiotics.
The Body Ecology Diet has a few different key components:
1. Eliminating Sugars (which feed bad bacteria). This includes eliminating simple carbs, breads, yeasts, gluten and checking labels to avoid not only table sugar, but also sugar content. Once I started reading labels I was amazed at how much sugar is contained in even supposed "health foods".
2. Actively cleaning the body of the Candida yeast and other negative bacteria, with anti-fungals. There are a number of anti-fungal foods and supplements that are readily available. Here are a few: Coconut oil, Garlic, Caprylic Acid, Olive Leaf extract, Oregano Oil, Pau D'Arco. There are many more too, just google candida yeast cleansing and you'll find a ton.
3. Adding in probiotics to your diet. These come in different forms; capsules, fermented foods (cultured vegetables) or drinks (Kevita or Kefirs).
At each stage of this process, I have noticed some key things that I want to share here:
1. During the "Candida killing" phases I noticed a definite correlation to my moods and in my case, anxiety. So, my anxiety actually got worse temporarily during these phases. With each phase though, I began to feel progressively better. Why do the symptoms get worse? Because when the dead yeast cells enter the bloodstream this causes a temporary increase in symptoms. This is called the Herxheimer reaction.
The process of going through these phases for me went something like this: a. Kick up the anti-fungals, b. Notice an increase in anxiety or other negative moods, c. feel better (experience a new level of clarity, joy etc..). The important thing to remember if you are doing this is that you can always back off on the anti-fungals to allow yourself time to physically and mentally adjust. I think it's best to look at this as a very long term process that is approached in phases. Depending on your situation, this may be a process that takes a year, or even several years. Trying to go too fast can be unpleasant.
I have also found that meditation and yoga have helped immensely in learning to cope with these phases. Why?
Meditation has helped to train my mind to experience the emotions with out necessarily feeling the need to react to them. Realizing that these thoughts are not "me" is helpful in simply observing them pass (like a dark cloud across the sky) without feeling the need to react to them.
Yoga helps to support the meditative ideas above, but also has given me some tools for dealing with stress in the body. In short, yoga has helped me to get to know my body and the energies that flow through my physical body that are attached to my mental functioning. This helps with short circuiting the mental stress BEFORE it makes it's way into my body. Once the stress has reached the physical level in can become a feedback loop. (i.e. I am stressed mentally (anxious or depressed)--->Now I FEEL stressed physically--->this stress must be REAL---> repeat ad infinitum with growing intensity.)
There are all levels of yoga no matter where you are in your physical conditioning. It's real, it's helpful and it can really help you feel good!!
Here are some links to other articles regarding our gut health and mental health.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/11/18/244526773/gut-bacteria-might-guide-the-workings-of-our-minds
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/changing-gut-bacteria-through-245617.aspx
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23784606
http://www.examiner.com/article/mental-disorders-and-the-candida-connection
http://voices.yahoo.com/could-mental-illness-actually-physical-6404292.html?cat=5
http://www.newswithviews.com/Howenstine/james16.htm
http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/1997/10.30/GeneticSecretso.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21485746
VIDEO:
http://www.ted.com/talks/bonnie_bassler_on_how_bacteria_communicate.html
I also highly recommend getting Donna Gate's Book:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Body-Ecology-Diet-Recovering/dp/1401935435
For my other blog articles on this topic click here.
For sound downloads click here.
Just a personal note: There is nothing new under the sun. I am just attempting to present info. here that has helped me. I hope to present it in a clear way based on my experience with anxiety which was a spiritual, psychological and emotional awakening for me. In retrospect of this experience I have been reading as much as I could to come to a deeper and more grounded understanding of this seemingly mystical thing that happened to me (so that I could share it with you). I'm not a doctor or a scientist. Please know this is only my experience. Yours will obviously be different, but since my experience was so similar to others I've talked to, I am hoping this may be helpful or useful to you in some way. It's also a way that I hope to share the love with you. That is my purpose here.