Listen to your gut feeling! There is more truth to this brain-gut connection than just a figure of speech.

I don’t know about you, but my stomach reacts directly to my emotions, such as whem I’m stressed or butterflies before I make a public speech.

It’s a double edged sword when it comes our digestive system. What we eat and our lifestyle choices affect our state of mind, and equally of state of mind has an effect on our gut too. I often envisage the two having a whatsapp conversation with each other “Hey man, why you so stressed out, you making me ill?’, gut to brain. “Well whatever you just ate is making me looney today!”, brain to gut.

And indeed, science is now revealing that there is a strong connection between the gut and the brain.

The message is clear! Looking after your good bacteria is one of the best ways to maintain a healthy gut and to feel happy and vibrant all round. As an added bonus, when your digestive tract is working well, you’ll lose weight and bloating will be a thing of the past. The most natural way to do this is with prebiotic and probiotic foods, which will feed the good bacteria and encourage growth.

Prebiotic foods include, garlic, raw or cooked onion, leek, and asparagus. Probiotics are found in fermented foods containing ‘good’ live bacteria; kefir, yoghurt, sauerkraut, pickles, tempeh, kombucha tea and cultured condiments. Prebiotics and probiotics are also available in supplement form.

And the big S word? Since stress is sadly an unavoidable part of our lives and directly related to gut health, it’s really important to take measures to try and alleviate this on a daily basis.

Yoga and deep breathing are known to lower stress related cortisol levels. And a good workout always helps deplete stress hormones whilst simultaneously releasing mood-boosting endorphines (happy hormones).

Happy gut – happy you!