Gut Health and Mood

The Problem

Currently young adults aged 18-35 are reporting the highest levels of stress, distress, depression and anxiety of any age group, with this number rising each year.

In the US:

• 77% of people regularly experience physical symptoms caused by stress.
• 73% regularly experience psychological symptoms caused by stress.
• 48% feel their stress has increased over the past five years.
• 48% say that stress has a negative impact on their personal and professional life (2).

Globally:

Research shows that almost every system in the body can be influenced by chronic stress, and when chronic stress goes unreleased, it suppresses the body’s immune system and ultimately manifests as illness (3).

Globally, there are more than 300 million people that suffer from depression, which is now the leading cause of disability worldwide (4).

Mood and Diet Connection

With new science being released each day strengthening the case for the importance of positive dietary choices in the prevention of depression, including the connection between gut health and mood;

Uplift Food feels a duty to bring to life products and services that make bridging this gap easier for everyone.

The Gut Mood Connection

Did you know that a huge 90% of our mood elevating serotonin is found within our gut?

Now it might begin to make sense why looking after the gut plays a significant role in helping us feel Uplifted!

Healthy Gut → Healthy Body → Happy Mind → Uplifted Life!

So what causes poor gut health?

1. Poor diet - In particular a diet lacking in prebiotic fiber
2. Antibiotics and some medications
3. Chemicals in make-up, cleaning products, and the environment
4. Everyday stress

How does poor gut health lead to a change in mood?

Poor gut health can lead to decreases in nutrient absorption from the healthy foods that we eat, as well as increases in inflammatory markers within the body:

• Deficiencies in particular nutrients can negatively influence the production of our mood regulating hormones.

• Depression has now been found to not solely be a result of imbalances in serotonin, but rather also connected to increases in inflammation within the body.

Therefore, both these factors have been shown to be associated with depression or a decreased mood, and by supporting our gut health, we are taking initiative to support our overall wellbeing.

The Gut Health Solution

What people think the solution is

1. Increase probiotic enhanced food consumption
2. Increase high fiber or wholegrain food consumption
3. Increase fruit and vegetable consumption 

Why this is not the entire solution

 Probiotic enhanced foods

Many foods on the market that contain added probiotic cultures do not have enough probiotics to be able to actually have a benefit in the body, but rather only have enough to ferment or culture the food product itself.

Additionally, if only a couple of strains get consumed on repeat, the important factor of diversity gets lost, and the benefits to our immune and digestive systems go down.

High fiber and wholegrain foods

Not all high fiber or wholegrain foods are created equal.

Many of these foods are either rich in insoluble fiber, a type of fiber that does not act as a prebiotic, but rather pushes food through your body;

Or they are missing resistant starch, a particularly effective type of prebiotic that is able to selectively feed the good probiotics already in our gut.

Fruits and vegetables

Although an absolutely vital part of improving your gut health, many fruits and vegetables are not rich in prebiotics.

Considering recommendations to consume between prebiotic fibers and resistant starch range between 5g - 20g per day, it is important to find sources that we can happily return to on a daily basis.

Irrespective of fruits and vegetables being an absolutely extremely necessary and valuable addition into your diet, they do not all necessarily help fill the gap of the missing prebiotic fiber and resistant starch you need.

Source  and Source

Levels of Prebiotics Within Common Vegetables 

Levels of Prebiotics within Vegetables Providing the Richest Source:

 All levels are for raw vegetables

Ranges show variances in measured findings from different studies

Levels of Prebiotics in Common Fruits

Source

As you can see, in order to hit the higher ranges of the prebiotic targets, you would need to be consuming, every day, an abundance of raw garlic, onion, chicory root, dandelion greens, jerusalem artichoke and select fruits. 

The Uplift Food Solution

All of the Uplift Food food products offer prebiotics in levels supported by science to have a real benefit, plus they contain a blend of prebiotics and a blend of different types of fibers which is essential for ensuring diversity in the growth of a range of probiotics in your gut to achieve optimal wellbeing!

In addition, Uplift Food products are all:

Nutrient dense - Offering ingredients that provide valuable nutrients and benefits to the body such as filling protein and dietary fiber, nourishing and healthy fats, energy enhancing naturally derived whole-food vitamins and minerals, and healthy skin and disease fighting antioxidants and polyphenols.

No negative nutrients or ingredients - There are no ingredients that may lead to negative inflammatory responses such as added refined sugars, refined carbohydrates, trans fats, GMOs, or artificial colours or sweeteners.