The Dietitian Dish Blog

Historically, it has been thought that the effect food has on our bodies was limited to strictly physical capacities, such as immune function, body weight or chronic disease risk. In recent years, however, research has been shifting to suggest that the impact food has on our daily lives may go far beyond the physical and can in fact play a crucial role in our mental health as well. There is currently a large amount of research being dedicated to exploring the relationship between the way food is broken down for energy in the gastrointestinal tract and how the brain is then able to utilize this energy for essential mental functions. It is becoming clear that this relationship, commonly known as “the gut-brain axis”, is much more complex than previously thought.