Question: Based on the efficiency of the gut, is there a correlation between food intolerances and mental health disorders?

Ellen Smith answered on 5 Mar 2021:

Brilliant question! Unfortunately food intolerances aren’t something that I specifically focus on so I can’t comment on that too much. But there’s a considerable amount of evidence that looks how dysbiosis (an imbalance) of your gut bacteria can be associated with mental health disorders like anxiety and depression. And in fact often patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (like Crohn’s disease) also suffer with these mental health disorders – although it’s difficult to determine the correlation between these two. For example you could argue that living with those diseases can have a negative impact on mood anyway, before you even consider if there’s a role of gut bacteria in this.

I have read a little about celiac disease and gluten sensitivity. With celiac disease, this can cause ‘leaky gut’ (where the gut lining becomes more permeable), which can impact on brain function and mood. It also can result in poor absorption of nutrients, which again can effect mood. Evidence suggests that a fifth of celiac patients develop psychiatric problems – like depression, ADHD and schizophrenia. And some studies even show that in patients with schizophrenia a gluten-free diet can improve their symptoms.

So there’s definitely a relationship between our gut health and mental health, but it’s really complicated and not something that we fully understand yet.