{"id":59557,"date":"2024-09-27T10:58:51","date_gmt":"2024-09-27T08:58:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.darmklachten.nl\/gut-and-brain\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T10:13:38","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T08:13:38","slug":"gut-and-brain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.darmklachten.nl\/en\/gut-and-brain\/","title":{"rendered":"Gut and brain"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The impact of gut complaints on your mental health<\/h2>\n

If you have gut problems, you may also notice that you do not feel well mentally. This is no coincidence. Your gut and brain are constantly communicating with each other. This connection means that what happens in your gut can affect your mental health. Gut complaints can contribute to feelings of stress, depression and listlessness. On this page, we explain how this works and what you can do to feel better both physically and mentally.<\/p>\n

Connection between the gut and brain<\/h2>\n

Your gut and brain are connected through nerves, chemical signals and hormones. The main route for this communication is the ‘vagus nerve’, a nerve that directly connects your brain to your gut. This means that what happens in your gut can have an almost immediate effect on your mood, emotions and even your ability to think. Your gut flora \u2013 the countless bacteria in your gut \u2013 also plays a crucial role in this.<\/p>\n

Healthy gut flora not only supports digestion, but also the production of important neurotransmitters such as serotonin. This substance is known as the \u2018happiness hormone\u2019 and around 90% of it is produced in the gut. Disturbed gut flora can therefore contribute directly to psychological symptoms.<\/p>\n

Gut and depression<\/h2>\n

Do you experience depressive feelings without an obvious cause? Your gut could play a role. Research shows that people with gut problems, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or a leaky gut, experience depressive symptoms more often. When your gut is out of balance, serotonin production decreases, which can lead to a low mood.<\/p>\n

Inflammation in the gut \u2013 caused by poor diet, stress or certain medication \u2013 can also release inflammatory substances (cytokines) that reach the brain. These substances are associated with depressive symptoms. A healthy gut can therefore contribute to a better mood.<\/p>\n

Gut and stress<\/h2>\n

Stress has a direct impact on your gut, and vice versa. When you are stressed, your body automatically triggers a ‘fight-or-flight’ response. Digestion is often slowed down during this process. This can cause gut complaints such as bloating, constipation or diarrhoea. Prolonged stress can disrupt your gut flora to such an extent that your stress levels rise again in response. This creates a vicious circle that can harm both your gut and your mental wellbeing.<\/p>\n

The reverse is also true: if your gut is not functioning properly, you may feel even more stressed. Constant signals from your gut to your brain can increase feelings of anxiety and nervousness.<\/p>\n

Gut and listlessness<\/h2>\n

Another common complaint associated with gut problems is listlessness. When your gut is not functioning optimally, it may absorb nutrients less effectively. This can lead to a lack of energy and make you feel tired and drained. Your body may then fail to absorb enough essential vitamins and minerals. This has a direct effect on your energy levels and mood.<\/p>\n

In addition, the mental impact of persistent gut complaints \u2013 such as constant worry and discomfort \u2013 can leave you feeling listless and unmotivated. By supporting your gut, you can regain energy and improve your overall wellbeing.<\/p>\n

How can you support your gut and brain?<\/h2>\n

There is a lot you can do yourself to improve both your gut and your mental health. Start with a healthy and varied diet that is rich in fibre, probiotics and fermented foods such as yoghurt and sauerkraut. These support healthy gut flora.<\/p>\n

It is also important to manage stress as much as possible. You can do this by exercising regularly, practising relaxation exercises and getting enough sleep. Mindfulness and yoga may also help to keep the connection between your gut and brain in balance.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] The impact of gut complaints on your mental health If you have gut problems, you may also notice that you do not feel well mentally. This is no coincidence. Your gut and brain are constantly communicating with each other.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7933,"featured_media":59558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[216],"tags":[],"post_series":[],"class_list":["post-59557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-intestinal-complaints","entry","has-media"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.darmklachten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.darmklachten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.darmklachten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.darmklachten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7933"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.darmklachten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59557"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.darmklachten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59557\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59602,"href":"https:\/\/www.darmklachten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59557\/revisions\/59602"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.darmklachten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.darmklachten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.darmklachten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.darmklachten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59557"},{"taxonomy":"post_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.darmklachten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_series?post=59557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}