UQ eMag Aug 25 - final - Flipbook - Page 24
why those who su昀昀er from
irritable bowel syndrome
(IBS) and func琀椀onal bowel
problems such as cons琀椀pa琀椀on,
diarrhoea, bloa琀椀ng, pain and
stomach upset have a higher
chance of experiencing anxiety
and depression.
This revela琀椀on is par琀椀cularly
important because
approximately 30-40 per
cent of the popula琀椀on has
func琀椀onal bowel problems at
some point in their lives!
While poor diges琀椀on may
be impac琀椀ng moods, the
connec琀椀on works the other
way too. Given how closely
your gut and brain are
intertwined, it becomes easier
to understand why you might
feel nauseated before giving a
presenta琀椀on, or feel intes琀椀nal
pain during 琀椀mes of stress.
This doesn't mean that
func琀椀onal gastrointes琀椀nal
condi琀椀ons are imagined or
"all in your head." Psychology
combines with physical factors
to cause in昀氀amma琀椀on, pain
and other bowel symptoms
and impact movement and
contrac琀椀ons in the gut. In
addi琀椀on, many people with
func琀椀onal gastrointes琀椀nal
disorders perceive pain more
acutely than other people do
because their brains are more
responsive to pain signals
from the gastrointes琀椀nal tract.
Stress can make the exis琀椀ng
pain seem even worse.
Your diet
AND YOUR MENTAL HEALTH
While both professional mental health/
or and dietary care can help those who
are su昀昀ering from ongoing gut or mental
health issues, our day-to-day diet can
also shape how we feel both mentally and
physically on a long-term basis.
Felice Jacka, a nutri琀椀onal psychiatrist at
Deakin University in Australia and author of
“Brain Changer: The Good Mental Health
Diet” champions this philosophy. “The data
regarding the importance of nutri琀椀on for
mental and brain health is now extensive
and highly consistent”, she says.
Although there are many poten琀椀al
mechanisms, the Mediterranean
diet has been shown to increase the
diversity of gut bacteria, and reduces
the other physiological changes such as
chronic in昀氀amma琀椀on that also seems to
accompany depression.
This phenomenon been demonstrated
in mul琀椀ple studies. In one such study
from Spain, people ea琀椀ng the tradi琀椀onal
Mediterranean diet were roughly half as
likely to be diagnosed with depression
over a four-year period.
So, what is the Mediterranean diet?
In generalised terms, it is a catch-all
description that incorporates a diet that
consists of the following:
