gut instinct

Could a spirulina egg-white omelette hold the key to happiness? Rebecca Newman discovers how a change in diet can change your life

For one writer, a change in diet was the secret to changing her life.

“There’s overwhelming evidence that a lack of certain nutrients, for example B vitamins, vitamin D and omega-3, are common contributors towards mental health disorders. It amazes me that doctors do not test for these deficiencies”

Six months after the birth of my second child, my world felt out of whack. I was physically healthy with a supportive husband and family, and I was aware of how lucky I was, yet the joy that had poured out of me when I cradled our first baby was missing. After breaking down in front of my GP, I was prescribed antidepressants. This was my first brush with depression, and I didn’t know any better. Although they had the side effect of making me lose my appetite (well, I was too exhausted to make meals anyway), they did dull my desire to curl up behind the sofa and weep. They also prised the lid open just far enough that I reconnected with my baby son Luke and daughter Elsa, two.

Still feeling low but functioning, I went back to work three months later. While researching an article I met Peter Cox, who had moved from traditional medicine into clinical nutrition. Cox told me about the link between various nutritional deficiencies (often associated with malabsorption due to a leaky gut) and depression. Then, looking at my gaunt frame and hearing a description of how tired and fragile I felt, he suggested some blood and saliva tests. “What we eat contributes markedly to our mental health, and it amazes me that this area of treatment is not taken more seriously,” he explained.

Cox’s insights were a revelation to me. Digging deeper, I found that eating badly was only one in a series of ways that gut health and happiness are related. “In a healthy gut, you absorb the nutrients from food through your gut wall,” nutritional therapist Eve Kalinik told me. “If your intestines are inflamed, they cannot process the nutrients. Instead of the saying, ‘You are what you eat,’ it should be, ‘You are what you can absorb.’”

And poor absorption means you could be missing out on the very nutrients essential to mental wellbeing. “There’s overwhelming evidence that a lack of certain nutrients, for example B vitamins, vitamin D and omega-3, are common contributors towards mental health disorders,” says Cox. Tryptophan, which is found in spirulina and egg whites, among other foods, is the amino acid from which serotonin, the calming and joy-giving hormone, is made. “Without it, you cannot manufacture serotonin and will be more prone to depression. It amazes me that doctors do not test for these deficiencies.” We’re preoccupied with being thinner and fitter, but we’re ignorant to the fact that our diet has the power to make us happier, too.

Kalinik says poor diet, illness or the modern triumvirate of alcohol, caffeine and stress can damage the lining of the gut and your subsequent ability to access essential nutrition. The other key player in gut health, which is increasingly being proven to be central to overall wellbeing, is the microbiome: the collection of bacteria found in our gut. In 2015, researchers in Turkey published a paper titled, “The Gut-brain Axis: The Missing Link In Depression”, pointing out the relevance of the microbiome-gut-brain connection. In short, the gut is being viewed as the second brain; there are more serotonin receptors in the gut, and if you’re not feeding yourself the right food to make your gut happy, it may be preventing you from feeling happy.

There are at least 1,000 species of bacteria in the gut (known collectively as the microbiome) – in fact, the gut has more bacteria than there is in any other organ or part of your body. And (fun fact) some estimates suggest that they can weigh up to two kilos, roughly the weight of a rabbit. Each of us has our own unique microbiome. We live in symbiosis with it – we host the bacteria and, in return, it does a range of jobs for us, including synthesising certain vitamins (B12 and K), breaking down foodstuffs that we cannot and modulating our immune system (70 per cent of our immune system is located in the gut). It also makes all kinds of mood-altering chemicals. Yes, like your body, the microbiome is able to create happy-making serotonin. But, if your gut and its flora are upset, you’re in trouble.

Even in a healthy gut there will be some “bad” bacteria. However, too many of these nasty organisms causes far-reaching damage. “In terms of depression, an overgrowth of unfriendly bacteria (such as Klebsiella) may not only affect our ability to produce neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine, they may also release chemicals that prevent our brain from being able to use the neurotransmitters we have already produced,” explains nutritional therapist Henrietta Norton.

So, what to do? Good bacteria can be boosted either by eating foods like yoghurt, sauerkraut, kefir and kimchi, or taking probiotic supplements. Eating more eggs can help lift mood – they’re

“People indiscriminately alter their diet because of something they’ve seen on Instagram. [But] we should stop vilifying whole food groups”

rich in tryptophan and zinc, needed to produce and boost serotonin – while wild salmon is full of healthy fatty acids to support the transport of neurotransmitters.

As for the bad guys, they’re fed by any kind of sugar, and discouraged by a diet that is rich in natural fibre, so ditch the juicer and eat your food whole. “It’s so annoying and disheartening when I see people come into the clinic not eating dairy, meat or gluten,” says Kalinik. “Cutting out major food groups [without a diagnosed allergy or intolerance] is misinformed – people indiscriminately alter their diet because of something they’ve seen on Instagram. We should stop vilifying whole food groups. Rather than eating a delicious slice of sourdough – which has friendly bacteria in it – we pay extra for some awful, fake, gluten-free product.”

While researching this article, the details Norton told me about magnesium and zinc had particular resonance: these minerals have a key part to play with our serotonin levels. Deficiencies in them have been related to premenstrual anxiety, and up to 80 per cent of Western women are deficient in magnesium. Surely this detail is relevant to the fact that one in three women experience anxiety at some stage in their lifetime, while one in five will suffer depression. When my tests came back, I found that I had such low levels of both magnesium and zinc that Cox said the results would be “commensurate with anorexia” – though in my case, may relate to two pregnancies in a short space of time, with breastfeeding and a limited diet.

Two months on, with a new eating plan designed by Cox featuring plenty of omega- and zinc-rich seeds, shellfish, leafy greens and various supplements, my energy and zeal for life has been transformed. I haven’t stopped taking my antidepressants yet, but I’m doing tests to see how I might optimise my good bacteria, have lined up the probiotics and am doing my best to eat the widest possible range of vegetables (dear kale, we can no longer be monogamous). For me – and who knows how many other women – it may be that gut health is the key to wellbeing and happiness (and I’ll have a side of kimchi and sauerkraut with that).