(This article is part of the Good Gut, Great Health series by gastroenterologist Dr Ashwini Setya, in which he unpacks how lifestyle, environment, diet, and hidden exposures affect your gut health. Read the earlier pieces here, here, here and here.)
You would remember some of your peers running to the toilet to ease themselves whenever faced with a difficult question in an exam or just before an interview. Phrases like ‘nervous gut’, ‘shitting in his pants’ or ‘butterflies in the stomach’ underscore the link between nerves and the gut.
This connection is mainly driven by the gut-brain axis, a two-way street through which the digestive tract and the central nervous system communicate with each other.
It is well established that gut health can influence mood and mental health conditions like anxiety, depression, response to stress and even cognition, and conversely, the mood and the mental state can also affect the gut function.
Increasing evidence now shows not only mental health but several brain diseases and organic brain disorders like Parkinson's disease may have origins in the digestive tract, particularly through the gut-brain axis.