A Happy Gut Can Lift Your Mood As The Nights Draw In

With winter fast-approaching and summer soon to be a distant memory, the changing seasons could impact your microbiome as well as your mood, discovers Amy Packer

- Amy Packe

PEOPLE who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) can become depressed during the winter months. But did you know, the changing seasons can also affect our gut microbiome, which, in turn, is linked to our mental health?

Research has revealed that our gut composition changes with the calendar, with studies observing a significant seasonal shift in its good bacteria caused by dietary changes between winter and summer.

Our microbiome is a fragile ecosystem, with changes in weather, exposure to infections (which increase in winter), food and physical activity levels all having an impact.

As the gut manufactures about 95 per cent of our supply of the happy hormone serotonin, it’s no wonder people end up feeling down in the darkest months.