Losing your shit? Swinging from depressed to anxious to moody and generally can’t think clearly?

Not sure what to do? Or you’ve visited your local doctor out of desperation, now you’ve got a piece of paper with an antidepressant written on it.

I worked for 20 years dispensing those anti-depressants and people weren’t getting any happier long term (although there are short term situations where it may be necessary).

That’s why I jumped the counter and now I’m offer empowering, long term solutions as a naturopath, that clean up at the beginning and not the end.

Consider this concept before you go any further…..did you know your gut affects your mood? Ever heard of the gut-brain connection?

Your Gut Is Your Second Brain

Brain symptoms can come from a poor gut health.

Did you know your gut is in constant communication with your brain?

Instinctively, you’ve always known this  .…..gut feeling, butterflies in stomach. Your vagus nerve directly connects the two, but they can also operate independently.

Now this is where it gets ground breaking for you. Your gut secretes 90% of your serotonin & your brain only 10%. So, why is it we’re using serotonin reuptake inhibitors (that’s how many antidepressants work), when all we need to do is ramp up the serotonin our gut produces every day? Makes sense to get our largest organ humming along in great condition, so you operate at your best. Rather than doing a patch job.

Did you know 90% of cells in your body are bacterial & only 10% are human cells?

Your gut contains a 1.5kg invisible microbiome that runs from mouth to anus, made up of trillions of bacteria in a beautifully diverse array akin to a rainforest. You are seeded with this microbiome when you’re birthed through your mother’s vaginal canal.

Keeping this diversity makes us robust and resilient to health problems. It makes vitamins, neurotransmitters and regulates inflammation.

It’s your job to nurture your diverse microbiome by feeding and protecting them.

Remember healthy gut equals healthy mind.

Here’s six ways to keep your microbiome healthy and ditch the antidepressant idea:

1. Reduce sugars and refined carbohydrates (grains) – swap your chocolate biscuits for an orange or apple. Opt for hommus and veggie sticks instead of cake. Recent studies show type 2 diabetes increases your chances of getting Alzheimers three fold. Just another reason to ditch the sugar.

2. Increase fibre – increase your fruit, vegetables, nuts and other real foods (grow on a plant, come from the ground). Change your meal proportions, one handful protein, three handful vegetables.

3. Increase good fats, such as eggs, avocado, nuts, seeds, coconut oil – your brain loves these fuels, runs cleaner on them and helps to repair brain and nerves. Ditch fried foods and hydrogenated vegetable oils in manufactured biscuits, cakes and packaged foods.

4. Aerobic exercise (means in presence of oxygen, so being able to just talk when you exercise is a good test) – ideally 20 minutes, seven days a week, aiming to increase your heart rate to 180 minus your age. Helps your body grow new brain cells and increase the size of your memory centre, which is important to thinking clearly and ageing well.

5. Practice gratitude, compassion and forgiveness daily, which are foundational practices for de-stressing. High cortisol from stress damages your array and diversity of gut bacteria and increases gut permeability and inflammation.

6. Keep enemies to your microbiome to a minimum – stomach acid reducing medication (Ranitidine, Zntac, Nexium, Losec…), antibiotics, prescription anti-inflammatories (Voltaren, Nurofen, Ibuprofen…), junk food and bad fats.

Need help getting your mood and microbiome back on track, CLICK HERE to book in for an individualised health plan that steps you through the process at my naturopathic clinic (Corowa) or an online video call.

I’ve taken thousands of clients through the process and they’ve never felt better. Getting your body working better outshines a patch job at the other end any day. That’s why I do what I do.

Have an outstanding day!

Julie xx (Naturopath, Life Coach, Pharmacist)

PS. Did you know you communicate with people by inhaling their one metre microbiome that surrounds them? Isn’t the human body fascinating!