A new study suggests that your digestive health has more to do with your mood than you might realize.

In the study, conducted by Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, women who reported feeling happier in a survey had lower levels of Firmicutes bacterium CAG 94 and Ruminococcaceae bacterium D16 in stool samples. Conversely, women who reported feeling more negatively had more of those same bacteria in their stool.

There's a Link Between Abdominal Pain, Indigestion and Anxiety

The study's sample obviously has a lot in common, but the findings may well be universal to a degree, experts agreed."Since menopause can last seven to 14 years, starting around ages 45 to 55, it is possible that some of these women also experienced mood disruptions related to either their cycle or hormones driving menopause,""On the other hand, an earlier study including both men and women also suggested that the gut microbiome may be associated with mood changes as well. In general, symptoms of abdominal pain and irregularity do often coincide with anxious and depressive symptoms."

“There is definitely a clear link between women's emotional health and their gut health, with our bodies literally having a direct connection via the vagus nerve to send messages between the gut and the brain," It is known that when you have poor gut health, or dysbiosis (an imbalance of good to bad bacteria in your gut), inflammatory molecules are released by the gut bacteria, and it is also widely accepted that inflammation is linked to anxiety and depression." 

The link between stress and gut health may be bi-directional—as in, there's some "chicken or the egg" here—making gut health even more important to emotional health overall and vice versa.

"When someone is feeling stressed, this can also lead to negative impacts on the gut," she says. "Therefore, findings ways to manage stress, and to nourish the gut, both play a role in improving mental well-being and overall gut health.”

What Foods Can Help Gut Health and Mental Health?

You can adjust your diet in ways that may benefit your emotional well-being, experts agree. Here's what they recommend.

Fermented Foods

These can include:

• Cottage cheese (dry curd)
• Farmer's cheese
• Kefir
• Kimchi
• Kombucha
• Miso
• Pickles (in salt brine, not vinegar)
• Sauerkraut
• Tempeh
• Plain yogurt