A surprising new study is challenging the way we think about depression, finding a strong connection with common gut conditions that could change how patients are treated.
Researchers have discovered that the gut, often called our second brain, has a powerful link to mental health. Next to the brain, the gut has the highest number of nerve cells in the body.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Strong link found between gut health and mental health
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“There’s a lot of interaction between the brain and the gut,” Professor Eske Derks from Neurogenomics said.
“We identified that the gastrointestinal cluster had the strongest link with depression,” researcher Damian Woodward said.
The study identified that gastrointestinal conditions had the strongest link with depression. Conditions including irritable bowel syndrome, reflux, stomach ulcers and gallstones showed the strongest correlation with the mental health condition.
Researchers have discovered a link between the gut and depression. Credit: 7NEWS
The connection works both ways, with chronic stress also affecting the gut.
“It’s really that stress level. When you have the constant stress, the system sort of gets dysregulated and we don’t know where it starts,” Derks said.
The findings could eventually change how depression is managed, with doctors encouraged to screen for physical symptoms too, treating the brain and the body at the same time.
Dietitian Jemma O’Hanlon from Foodwatch says eating better is a good start.
“People who have chosen to eat better and have felt better and have improved their mood and lifted their spirits and overall feel so much better,” she said.
It could change how depression is managed. Credit: 7NEWS
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