Eat your way to inner calm: Dr Michael Mosley reveals how a Mediterranean diet can boost your mood because it helps your gut produce happy hormone serotonin
- Michael Mosley, 63, appeared on This Morning today to speak about gut health
- Told that diet of fruit, nuts and vegetables, legumes can boost immune system
- Told 80 per cent of serotonin is produced in gut which has trillions of brain cells
If you're in search of some inner calm during turbulent times, Dr. Michael Mosley has revealed why adopting the Mediterranean diet could give your serotonin levels a boost.
The medic behind the 5:2 Diet phenomoneon appeared on This Morning today from his Buckinghamshire home, where he discussed the importance of gut health for boosting the immune system, recommending fruits, nuts and legumes.
He added that humans have as many brain cells in the lining of their gut as a cat has in its entire head, and that our gut is responsible for 80 per cent of the body's serotonin production.
He told that eating foods like olive oil, lentils and kidney beans can have a 'profound effect' on your mood, because your gut send signals to your brain which help you calm down.
Doctor Michael Mosley (pictured) ,63, Buckinghamshire, appeared on This Morning today where he told that humans have as many brain cells in the lining of their gut as a cat has in its entire head
He told hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby (pictured) a Mediterranean diet of fruits, nuts and legumes can help defend your body from attacking microbes
Describing the gut as your 'first line of defence', the doctor revealed: 'We know the microbes that live in your gut. There are mabe four to six pounds, they are there in part to defend you from other microbes that come in.
'But they do more than that they defend your immune system, your microbial health is incredibly important, and it has been calculated there are as many microbes down there as cells in the human body.
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'There are a lot of them down there, probably 100 trillion and they do a whole different range of tasks.'
When asked about his preferred way to improve gut health, Dr Michael said that he's a 'huge fan' of the Mediterranean diet.
The GP explained eating fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi to help keep your gut healthy
The doctor said the human body has 'probably 100 trillion' microbes in their gut, which weigh around four to six pounds
'It consists of olive oil and fruit and nuts and vegetables and legumes like kidney beans and lentils. There are loads of recipes out there,' he said.
'New research from Australia found that switching your diet from a sugary and junky diet to a Mediterranean diet can have a profound effect on mood.
'It's encouraging growth of good bacteria in the gut which sends signals in the brain which help calm you down. Food plays a huge part in mood and that's why it's so important to prioritise food'.
He then encouraged eating homemade fermented foods, like sauerkraut and kimchi.
He then encouraged eating home made fermented foods, like sauerkraut and kimchi and told that your gut produces 'loads of hormones' including serotonin. Michael is pictured at the This Morning studio in 2016
When quizzed by host Holly Willoughby on whether it's true that 80% of serotonin made in gut, he said: 'Absolutely.
'Your gut is known as the second brain, you have lining you gut a whole load of brain cells, as many as you would find in the head of a cat. So you have a very clever gut.
'Down there you have these brain cells and down there you are producing serotonin and loads of other hormones and that's another reason why they can really impact your mood.
'That's why looking after it and feeding it and building up your fortification with fermented food is something I'm doing.'
