“One of the most common complaints we get in our clinic is this – “My digestion is terrible and so is my mood.”. This line is not to be trifled with because there is more to it than meets the eye.

Because the more I study – both modern molecular science and Ayurveda, the more obvious this link has become. 

Digestion and mental health don’t live in separate compartments – they’re in constant conversation. 

Inside our digestive tract sits the enteric nervous system with over a hundred million nerve cells running from the food pipe to the colon. It controls how you digest, absorb, eliminate and respond to stress. And it talks to the brain all the time – and this is now known by the now popular term – “the gut-brain axis”! What exactly does this mean? In simple terms, the gut-brain axis is a bi-directional communication pathway between the brain and the gut where chemicals/molecules/second messengers from these two important human systems are constantly exchanged.

For years, we assumed anxiety causes gut problems. Now research is showing something equally important. An imbalanced gut can send distress signals upward, affecting mood, focus, sleep and emotional stability. 

In fact, a fascinating study recently published in the journal mBio demonstrated that patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) showed that patients with IBS significantly exacerbated symptoms of depression and anxiety in these patients. This has tremendous potential in using the Gut-Brain Axis as a potential route to treat MDD and IBS.

Now, here’s the kicker!! Ayurveda always know about the connection between depression and anxiety and the gut. आहार मूला: सर्वे रोगा: (Aahara moolaha sarve rogaha) – this means all disease is caused by the type of food you eat. 

Digestion, stress, sleep, emotions, immunity – they were always discussed together. 

Agni wasn’t just about food. It was about life force, rhythm and resilience. 

Today, science is finally catching up. We’re seeing how gut microbes influence mood. How chronic stress disrupts digestion. How ultra-processed food and poor sleep quietly alter emotional health.

And this is exactly why, we need to make sure our gut is healthy. And how do we do that? Sure get your probiotics in – and when we say probiotics, we mean simple, easily available probiotics like buttermilk (both Kefir and Indian) and curds (curds again should not be used in all seasons and all times, but more about this in a different blog). You really ndon’t need to buy expensive supermarket probiotics. Lassi, chaas and curds will more than suffice. But more important than probiotics are the PREBIOTICS. What are they? They are humanly-indigestible fibers BUT eminently fermentable by the gut bacteria. They are necessary for the maintenance of the bacteria – in fact, gut bacteria thrive when fed with prebiotics. The metabolic by-products of these prebiotics are actually elixir for the body. SCFAs (short chain fatty acids), produced by the gut bacteria upon fermentation of the prebiotics are important second messengers that have a host of beneficial effects on the body. It is therefore important that we imbibe at least 3-5 grams of prebiotics a day. AND this is where Ayurveda scores over every other medical system known to man. Ayurveda provides us with a host of plants that are excellent sources of prebiotics. We at Jammi’s have leveraged this gift by researching and developing India’s first comprehensive blend of prebiotics that contain fructo-ologisaccharides (FOS), galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) and polyphenols. We call it Tribiome and this has been shown to accelerate the speed of recovery for many metabolic and lifestyle diseases including IBS, Diabetes, Migraine, Liver Diseases, PCOS and others.

Quick fixes may suppress symptoms, but long-term balance comes from restoring the system:

 Supporting digestion. 

 Calming inflammation. 

 Creating routines the body can trust.

 Nourishing the overall gut ecosystem. 

We’ve always used phrases like “trust your gut” or “butterflies in the stomach” without questioning them. Turns out, they weren’t merely metaphors. They were biology. Interesting, isn’t it?!

#mood #digestion #gut #prebiotics #IBS #constipation #diarrhoea