Tell me what you eat, and I’ll tell you how you feel

The universe hidden in your belly

In general, when we think of bacteria, something “evil” immediately comes to mind a real threat to our health and that of others. But what would you think if I told you that, right now, there are around 127 different genera of bacteria roaming your gut? Don’t worry no need to rush to the ER. These bacteria are your allies. They play vital roles in your digestive processes you probably suspected that. But did you know they also have an impact on your mood? That’s right. As strange as it may seem, the bacteria that make up your microbiota affect your irritability, depression, mood swings, and more (the microbiota refers to the microorganisms living in your gut. They make up 99% of all the microbes in your body). As crazy as it may sound, what happens in your gut affects your mental health and your emotional ups and downs. And it’s no wonder your microbiota can weigh up to 2 kilograms (that’s more than the average human brain) and is made up of about 100 trillion bacteria. So yes, what the microbes in your gut do or don’t do really “weighs” on your body. Phrases like “having a knot in your stomach,” “being gut-driven,” or “it came from my gut” actually carry some truth. Now, if we know that our microbes influence our mood, how can we positively impact our friendly bacteria? As you might guess, the answer is: through food.

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Here’s a fantastic talk by the German writer Giulia Enders.

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The writer, scientist, and medical student Giulia Enders wrote an excellent book about how to take care of our microbial friends. Her book, which has sold more than 2 million copies, explains that our gut is a real “battleground” (I’ve left a link below if you’re interested in the book). The bacteria fight each other to claim as much territory as possible. Our goal, says Giulia, is to help the “mood-boosting” bacteria win. Giulia offers many great tips in her book to support the “best” bacteria (and she explains everything very clearly). However, for those who don’t have time to read the book, here are three key tips from it to help lift your mood through what you eat.

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The excellent book by Giulia Enders (click on the image below)

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3 Tips to Take Care of Your Microbial Friends

1. Probiotics to the Rescue

   
   

“Pro-bios” comes from Greek and means “for life,” which is exactly their role in our gut. Probiotics are live bacteria that help strengthen the battleground of the bacteria we want on our side. How to consume probiotics? It’s as simple as going to the pharmacy and asking for probiotic supplements. Even easier? Some foods act as natural probiotics: sour cream, yogurt, sauerkraut, pickles (ideally without sugar), sourdough bread, and more. In general, says Giulia, foods produced by bacteria through fermentation are fantastic for our gut flora.

2. Let’s Not Be So Clean

That’s right, Giulia invites us to be dirtier. She says that the bad reputation of bacteria has pushed us to fear all of them and, therefore, to develop different types of products to eliminate them. “Spray that kills 99.99% of all bacteria” is something we can commonly read. Giulia invites us to prioritize more natural cleaning systems (washing with boiling water, natural cleaning products, vinegar, baking soda, etc.) since that way we will be protecting our microbiota and that of our family.

3. Beware of antibiotics

Its name says it all, “antibiotics” are the exact opposite of “probiotics.” Be careful, it’s not about avoiding them if the doctor prescribes them, however, it is important not to abuse them and, after a period of taking them, it is essential to do what Giulia calls a “probiotic cure,” that is, prioritizing foods that will strengthen our intestinal flora again for a period of time.

That’s all for our new article. We leave the link above if you are interested in the book, and by using it, you will help us continue writing these articles. Don’t forget to click the links throughout the text; they will allow you to deepen your understanding of the subject. Have a good week, and remember to eat yogurt.