By Serafina Kenny
Published Feb 17, 2025
A professor of psychiatry shared three ways caring for our gut health could improve our mental health.
Valerie Taylor, who is based at the University of Calgary, studies the relationship between the gut microbiome — the trillions of microorganisms in the digestive system — and the brain.
The gut microbiome is a rapidly growing area of research, with more than 40 times as much funding for related research in the US in 2016 as there was in 2007.
Research suggests that gut microbes, the brain, and the central nervous system can influence each other via what is known as the “gut-brain axis,” including by regulating the production of certain chemicals.
For example, when people get stressed, their bodies release more of the “stress hormone” cortisol, which can make the gastrointestinal system digest food faster, leading to diarrhea or an upset stomach, Taylor said.
