Recipes & Rituals — serotonin

If you have IBS and anxiety, you are not imagining the connection between them. The relationship is real, bidirectional and increasingly well understood by science. Understanding it is the first step to managing both more effectively.The StatisticsPeople with IBS are significantly more likely to experience anxiety and depression than the general population. Studies suggest that 40-60% of people with IBS have a comorbid anxiety or mood disorder. For years this was interpreted as a psychological response to a distressing physical condition. The reality is considerably more complex.The Gut-Brain AxisThe gut and brain communicate constantly via the vagus nerve — a...

Your gut and your brain are in constant conversation. This is not a metaphor — it is biology. The enteric nervous system, often called the second brain, contains over 500 million neurons lining your gastrointestinal tract. These neurons communicate directly with your brain via the vagus nerve in what scientists call the gut-brain axis.Serotonin and the GutApproximately 90% of the body's serotonin — the neurotransmitter most associated with mood regulation — is produced in the gut, not the brain. This is one of the most striking findings in modern neuroscience and helps explain why gut dysfunction so frequently co-occurs with...