Diet is crucial in determining the balance of your sympathetic and parasympathetic systems (SNS) (PSNS) . What you eat significantly affects your thinking and mental health apart from physical health, and interestingly, most of the depression and anxiety you experience today do not originate from your brain. It originates from your stomach through the food you eat, as your brain contains only 10 percent of serotonin (one of the four happy hormones). 90 percent of serotonin originates from your gut (intestine) by Enterochromaffin (EC) cells. It gets transported to your brain through the Vagus Nerve, which is the key to activating your parasympathetic system and sending signals in both directions. Surprisingly, your gut contains 500 million neurons connecting your brain through nerves in the nervous system. Serotonin significantly regulates mood, lifestyle, creativity, attitude, blood clotting, and digestion. It even has connections with the arousal of sex organs. It is light to ignite a healthy lifestyle as low serotonin levels have been linked with the increase of cortisol hormone, which in its severe form leads to anxiety and depression. However, the digestive tract cannot produce sufficient serotonin due to unhealthy eating habits, and as a result, the body gets infected with toxic bacteria. Let us see what junk food does in your stomach and how you can increase serotonin levels.
HAZARDS OF JUNK FOOD
Junk food is poison to the microbiome (the friendly bacteria) in your body that help produce serotonin and are also responsible for regulating a check on cancer cells and preventing them from multiplying. In addition, microbiomes boost your immune system, making you less likely to fall sick. The immune system is the master key to good health. When junk food devours the microbiomes, your stomach cannot produce and transport sufficient serotonin levels to the brain. As a result, your sympathetic system becomes more reactive and can easily get aroused at the slightest provocation. Continuous stimulation of the sympathetic system due to the imaginary stress you create in the absence of serotonin leads to malfunctioning of the mind and the body. Furthermore, you lose interest in the things you once sprinkled your passion on, and your motivation to live life decreases.
PROBIOTICS AND PREBIOTICS
Probiotics consist of food and supplements that contain microbiomes and help maintain the good bacteria in the body. Prebiotics are food for the probiotics or the microbiomes that help them provide energy and nourishment so that they can spread quickly to the brain through the Gut-Brain Axis or the Vagus Nerve . In other words, probiotics are the sunlight filtering through your body, and prebiotics are the sun or the source of the sunlight. While many debate the importance of probiotics with prebiotics, both are essential in their own way and should be taken to ensure the proper functioning of gut health. They share a cause-and-effect relationship where prebiotics are the cause, and the effect is probiotics.
Examples of Probiotics include Yogurt, Lactobacillus or homemade curd, Kefir and many Japanese sources of supplements like Natto, Miso, Shoyu, Tsukemono, Umeboshi and Katsuobushi.
Prebiotics include bananas, whole grains, onions, garlic, soybeans and artichokes.
OTHER TECHNIQUES TO INCREASE SEROTONIN
- Sitting in the sunlight is healthy as it contains lots of melatonin and serotonin that nourish your body’s cells.
- Exercising is a great way to increase serotonin and instantly lower your body’s stress levels.
- Being silly and playful is another beautiful technique to gain more serotonin when you stop sulking and make a dull face in every situation.
- Getting massage therapy helps in the production of serotonin as it stimulates the parasympathetic system.
- Positive affirmations and manifestations can attract serotonin as you are what you feel or act like. So fake it until you make it.
CONCLUSION
Eating healthy has become a significant problem in both the West and the East. In Western countries, people usually get so engrossed in their busy lifestyle that they feel lazy to cook homemade food and depend on fast food joints to satisfy their hunger. It is common to see people in the United States strolling to McDonald’s to have breakfast as they rush to school or the office. That is why the States is leading the world regarding anxiety and depression.
Due to poverty and developmental issues, personal hygiene has become controversial in the East, as many do not care about their health. Lack of education also makes people vulnerable to ignoring what is happening inside their bodies and not spending much time researching the link between diet and anxiety.
Ignorance, carelessness, obsession with the taste of junk food and lack of resources contribute to an unhealthy diet globally. We all must take the initiative to change our eating habits and bring positivity into our lives.
