While the post-pandemic world can certainly influence anyone and we can all relate to challenges we or someone we love has experienced since, we can also agree that it’s clear that some people are clearly more resilient than others…but why?

Many of you have probably heart of the gut-brain axis before. Neurons exist in our gut – especially our small intestine, which also has an intimate connection with our vagus nerve and therefore our parasympathetic nervous system – which regulates all of our automatic bodily functions, digestion, heartrate, breathing, etc. Because of these extrinsic sympathetic neurons in the gut, there is direct communication to the brain. According to National Institutes of Health (NIH), it is our gut microbes that moderate these sympathetic neurons.  This is precisely why fermented foods can increase gut health, because they have the opportunity to grow a wide variety of beneficial microbes, and feed the ones we have for a more balanced environment.

This is part of why we see countries with these components in their diet as having a lower instance of mental health diagnoses. Seafood also has the added benefit of having iodine in it, which is essential to thyroid health. While I don’t fall prey to believing that the thyroid is the common offender many people claim it to be, it is an important part of a system and feedback loop that requires nourishing.

Some of the symptoms we see connected to a depleted microbiome are ADHD, Autism, Depression, and Anxiety. So, what can we do? My first approach is getting a picture of the microbiome, some tests like a GI MAP give a decent picture of one’s gut climate, muscle testing is an incredibly effective approach, looking at the body’s priority and allowing the systems to fall into place naturally with proper nourishment. There is so much to say on this topic, much of which revolves around stewarding our bodies to nourish our minds.