As we move into darker evenings, how are you feeling? Shorter colder days with cold and flu season among us can see our mood being affected. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)is a real thing, but we can be prepared.
By adjusting our diet to support our happy hormones, address any gut issues we may be experiencing and ensure we are getting enough Vitamin D, we can support our mood and empower ourselves with the energy to tackle silly season!
That gut feeling!
So how does our gut affect how we feel? Did you know that our gut is the only organ to boast its own independent nervous system an intricate network of 100 million neurons embedded in the gut wall. Hence The gut is often referred to as our ‘second brain’! and why we often ‘Feel it in our gut or have a gut feeling’
The brain in your gut exerts a powerful influence over the one in your head We are mostly bacteria- they outnumber our own cells 10 to 1 and most of them make their home in the gut. These are called our microbiome and affect not only the gut but our mind due to how our microbiome influence neural development, brain chemistry, emotional behaviour, pain perception, and how our stress system responds.
Did you know that at birth every gut is sterile! This changes to empower us. Gut bacteria regulate digestion and metabolism. They extract and make vitamins and other nutrients from food that we eat. Gut bacteria protect against the dangers from the outside world.
It is our gut bacteria that manufacture about 95 per cent of the body’s serotonin (one of our happy hormones – will talk about that later) which influences both mood and GI activity. When you consider the guts ability to communicate with the brain along with its crucial role in defending the body against the outside world its almost unthinkable that the gut is not playing a critical role in our mind states.
Harmful bacteria can ramp up anxiety while beneficial can have the opposite effect. Just as the gut bacteria affect the brain the brain can affect the gut bacteria. Psychological stress supresses beneficial bacteria. Stress induced changes to the microbiome may in turn affect the brain and behaviour. Défense molecules the gut produces during infection called inflammatory cytokines disrupt brain neurochemistry and make people more vulnerable to anxiety and depression. Keeping anxiety and depression under control may improve inflammation in the gut and treating inflammation in the gut may improve mood by altering brain biochemistry! Can you see the connection!
Supporting our Microbiome through a varied and balanced diet is essential to gut and mental wellbeing
Our Happy Hormones!
Dopamine and Serotonin are chemical messengers or neurotransmitters that help regulate many bodily functions and are considered our ‘happy hormones’ along with oxytocin and endorphins and play a role in regulating moods and emotions. Dopamine is involved in a person’s feelings of pleasure and reward. Serotonin is involved in emotions as well, but it also affects digestions and metabolism.
Dopamine levels influence our mood, sleep, learning, movement, alertness, blood flow and urine output in addition to aiding digestion, serotonin is involved in regulating our sleep wake cycle, mood and emotions, metabolism and appetite, cognition and concentration, hormonal activity, body temperature and blood clotting
Neurotransmitters do not act independently. They interact with and affect each other to maintain a careful chemical balance within the body and we need to ensure sufficient production so to naturally boost dopamine and serotonin levels we need to eat a balanced diet with foods containing tryptophan the protein that produces these neurotransmitters
Tryptophan rich foods such as almonds, chicken, eggs, spinach should be consumed and We can also influence production by exercising, meditating, getting enough sleep and engaging in activities you enjoy.
The power of Vitamin D
Vitamin D is a powerful nutrient that has far-reaching impacts on everything from immune function (key during winter to fight off colds and bugs), thyroid health to bone strength (controls calcium uptake). Vitamin D also regulates many other cellular functions in your body. Its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and neuroprotective properties support immune health, muscle function and brain cell activity. In truth, vitamin D is more of a hormone than a vitamin and therefore, it plays a huge role in many different biological functions inside your body.
Vitamin D can’t be synthesized inside your body. The main pathway that your body typically uses to synthesize vitamin D is through exposure to sunlight (which generates vitamin D in your skin) Every person has vitamin D receptor cells. These receptors convert cholesterol in the skin after it’s exposed to the ultraviolet B rays from the sun. In turn, it produces vitamin D3, or by taking a supplement. Vitamin D can be stored in the body and your body can utilise these reserves should Ur diet be lacking but also store it if taken in high doses of supplementation. Testing is essential!
It’s hard to get enough vitamin D through your diet alone during the winter months not only is there less light during the day, but you typically have most of your skin covered up because of the cold. As a result, vitamin D levels drop precipitously in the winter, especially in cold climates, so you may want to ask a healthcare professional for a blood test and consider taking a vitamin D supplement. Supplementation could help in people with fat absorption issues, lactose intolerance, milk allergies as well as those with darker skins or with certain medical conditions that prevent them going outdoors.
Rule of thumb for vitamin D
If your shadow is shorter than the height of the object casting it you produce vitamin D but if your shadow is longer, no vitamin D is produced. In summer the sun is at high angles up to 75 degrees, with high UVB production and maximum vitamin D produced. In winter sun is at low angles down to 29 degrees and low UVB with little to no Vitamin D produced.
You need 15 minutes of sun exposure to get your daily dose of natural vitamin D.
Vitamin D isn’t naturally found in many foods, but you can get it from fortified milk, fortified cereal, and fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardines, mushrooms.
In Conclusion
As Vitamin D, supporting our happy hormones and microbiome are all interconnected we can reduce the effect of seasonal change on our mood and energy and improve our sleep by supporting our intake and production by eating a varied and balanced diet and supplementing where needed.
