106: The Surprising Connection Between The Gut and Your Mood, With Dr. Uma Naidoo
Dr. Uma Naidoo is a board-certified psychiatrist, nutrition specialist, and author of This is Your Brain on Food, who discovered a wide gap in healthcare when she realized that no one is talking about how food can cause common symptoms such as brain fog and anxiety–and food can also be used to reduce stress, boost mood, and improve focus. In today's episode, Dr. Uma is breaking down key principles, takeaways, and tips from her best-selling books including the gut-brain connection that explains why you may be so stressed out. She explains why food affects mood, and offers easy "prescriptions" (AKA recipes, grocery lists, and lifestyle changes) if you need to get out of a funk, need to focus for a major meeting or exam, to calm anxiety and stress, or if you have a special event like a wedding or trip you want to feel present and energized for. Money may not buy happiness, but food can.
SHOW NOTES:
On this week’s edition of Ask The Everygirl, Emma and Josie address a listener’s question about how to feel confident in a bathing suit. They each talk about their own experiences with body image, and the complicated feelings that come with summertime. Emma provides some advice for embracing a body neutrality mindset, and Josie gives her tips for feeling great about yourself when you look in the mirror. Josie also rants about how patriarchal beauty standards shape women’s perceptions of themselves. The interview with Dr. Uma Naidoo begins with Dr. Naidoo sharing how she first got interested in the connection between the gut and the brain, and what her research around what she refers to as the “gut-brain romance” has yielded. Josie asks Dr. Naidoo how we got so far away, as a culture, from using food as medicine, and Dr. Naidoo responds accordingly. She provides some advice for asking questions, advocating for yourself, and finding the right doctor who will provide you with both holistic advice and medication if needed. She and Josie have a conversation about the relationship between nutrition and longevity. Josie then asks Dr. Naidoo how what we eat affects our brains. Dr. Naidoo explains how the food we eat can create inflammation in the gut, which in turn causes the brain to react. She covers dysbiosis, leaky gut, and other gut imbalances that can actually have a huge impact on our moods and how we act. Josie shares how she was prescribed SSRIs years ago and ended up successfully going off of them after she realized that 95% of serotonin was produced in the gut. She then asks Dr. Naidoo to explain the concept of “emotional immunity,” which refers to our ability to handle stress and intense negative emotions based on our own physical health. Josie asks Dr. Naidoo whether food and diet are more impactful in the long term or the short term when it comes to mood. Dr. Naidoo explains how having a little bit of ice cream from time to time isn’t going to ruin your mood, but that in the long term, maintaining a healthy diet is essential for mental health. Then, Dr. Naidoo provides a game plan for tackling your mental health through your diet. This includes swapping certain foods, eating new foods that make you feel better, and walking or incorporating movement. She also provides some tactics for those who tend to beat themselves up after a rough day for turning to food for emotional support. Finally, Josie asks Dr. Naidoo what foods she always makes sure to have on hand in her fridge to promote gut health and ensure a good mood. The episode closes with some rapid-fire questions for Dr. Naidoo.
Must-Listen Moments:
[00:40] Ask The Everygirl: Diving Into Body Image and Self-Love
[11:51] Embracing Body Neutrality and Mental Rehearsal Tips
[29:08] Interview with Dr. Uma Naidoo: Food, Brain, and Mental Well-being
[36:14] Understanding the Gut-Brain Connection
[41:24] Exploring Emotional Immunity and Control Over Health
[48:54] Addressing Chronic Stress with Nutritional Choices
[01:05:33] Rapid Fire Questions: Boosting Mental Health with Nutrition
More from The Everygirl:
Find and listen to more episodes at https://theeverygirl.com/