We all make emotional connections with the foods we eat, but many of us don’t realise just how direct the link is between food and our mood. There is even a name for this: Neurogastroenterology, the study of the interactions between the brain and the gut.
One in four people in the UK will suffer problems with their mood or mental health every year, with anti-depressant prescriptions increasing by over 40% in the last 5 years. Our gut contains some 100 million neurons (nerve cells), more than in either the spinal cord or the rest of our nervous system (excluding the brain). This nerve network is so extensive that some scientists have nicknamed the gut our “second brain”. Our gut nerve tissue does much more than merely handle digestion or cause occasional nervous feelings. Our “second brain” partly determines our mental state and plays key roles in certain diseases throughout the body.
According to charity Allergy UK, a shocking 45% of us suffer with food and drink intolerances, and with so many people in the UK suffering with low mood, identifying the root cause is essential to treat the problem. Recent research from YorkTest Laboratories, leading experts in food intolerance testing, has found that 97% of their customers reported problems relating to mood as a significant symptom of their food intolerance, of which 73% felt that their mood had significantly improved after altering their diets to remove foods to which they reacted.
Many people will not be aware that 90% of serotonin, the brain’s ‘happy hormone’ is produced in the gut. About 90 percent of the fibres in the body’s main nerve, the vagus, carry information from the gut to the brain and (surprisingly) not the other way around! In addition, the gut’s nervous system uses more than 30 neurotransmitters (chemical messengers) that are identical to those in the brain. Research has now shown that depression is frequently associated with gastrointestinal inflammation, a common symptom of food intolerance. By tackling unidentified food intolerances, not only will physical symptoms benefit, but mental health symptoms can often show significant improvement.
In a recent paper published in the Journal of Nutrition and Food Science, over 81% of patients reported a significant improvement in mood and mental wellbeing as a direct consequence of applying the dietary changes recommended by YorkTest; Europe’s leading provider of food and drink intolerance testing with over 30 years’ experience. The YorkTest food and drink intolerance test called Food&DrinkScan can uncover potential food and drink triggers, allowing people to simply modify their diets with life changing and mood changing health benefits.
Food&DrinkScan measures reactions to 158 foods and also ingredients found in beverages. Unlike other more basic tests available, YorkTest customers are fully supported with their dietary changes. Food&DrinkScan offers comprehensive patient support that includes:
- Two telephone consultations with a qualified Nutritional Therapist who will offer specific individual dietary advice
- Help on how to incorporate the recommended diet changes
- A 12 week food diary with diet tips to help sufferers keep track of the changes they are making to their diet.
Food intolerance can certainly cause anxiety and depression and simple dietary changes can really help.
YorkTest is Europe’s leading food intolerance and allergy testing company developing tests to determine your food sensitivity. A potential use for food intolerance testing is a gluten intolerance test.
