Perhaps you’ve heard the buzz about the gut-brain axis. It is the so-called “information highway” between the gut and the brain over which these two regions communicate via hormonal, metabolic, immunological, neural, and microbial signals. Why is this important to menopausal health? We’re so glad you asked.

The gut-brain axis

The information highway over which all of those signals travel is called the vagus nerve. It is the longest of the 12 cranial nerves and runs from the brain stem to part of the colon. Also known as the pneumogastric nerve, it is involved in many functions, including digestion, breathing, cardiovascular activity, heart rate, and reflex actions such as swallowing, sneezing, and coughing. 

The brain and gut both produce neurotransmitters that control emotions and feelings. Serotonin, for example, is generally thought of as a brain chemical involved in mood. Yet much of the serotonin in your body is made in your gut, indicating that the brain and gut are intimately connected and that your emotions can have a direct impact on your gut and its activities. The microbes in the gut also make gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), another neurotransmitter that helps control anxiety and fear.

Read about menopause and digestive problems

Gut-brain axis and menopausal health

The menopausal years are times of significant changes in many areas of a woman’s life, including her physical, emotional, and mental health. Since the gut-brain axis connects the cognitive and emotional areas of your brain with your gut—which is itself a treasure chest of microorganisms that impact the nervous, digestive, and immune systems—you can see how the health of that highway can affect any one or more of the changes associated with menopause.  

Let’s take depression and anxiety as examples. Research has shown that mice given certain probiotics, which worked on the microorganisms in their gut, increased the production of GABA in the brain and resulted in a reduction in depression-like behavior and anxiety. 

Read about menopause and inflammation

Inflammation is a significant concern in menopause because it is a key factor in so many health challenges ranging from heart disease to arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, dementia, diabetes, obesity, and more. The microbes in your gut play a critical role in your immune system and inflammation because they control what enters your bloodstream and what gets eliminated. 

New research concerning the gut-brain axis is underway to uncover more information about the links between digestive health and neurodegenerative health. The researchers hope to learn more about the interactions between neurological diseases and immunological changes in the digestive system and, from that, identify if diseases in the brain and gut mutually affect each other or could even trigger disease. 

Experts have already seen some clues that these relationships exist. For example, individuals who have chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have a greater risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, a common neurodegenerative disease. Some studies have indicated there may be a connection between IBD and multiple sclerosis. 

Bottom line 

New inroads into the gut-brain axis and the inflammatory and degenerative diseases associated with it will hopefully improve the ability to identify, prevent, and treat these conditions, many of which are most common in women. In the meantime, it is important to support your menopausal health by following an anti-inflammatory diet, consuming prebiotics and probiotics in the form of foods and supplements, staying physically active, and practicing stress reduction techniques daily.