Nurturing a Healthy Mind Via the Gut

The concept of the gut-brain axis—a bidirectional line of communication by which the gut and brain jointly maintain health—is not new, but there is now evidence to suggest that the gut microbiota plays a key role in communication between the gut and the brain. The gut-brain axis links the cognitive and emotional areas of the brain with peripheral gut functions, such as intestinal permeability and immune system stimulation (Del Toro-Barbosa et al. 2020). The gut microbiota may influen…