I think it's fair to say that most practitioners in functional medicine as well as most health enthusiasts embrace the importance of our microbiome, I'm talking about the trillions of organisms that colonize our gut. 80% of our immune system comes from the gut. It is becoming increasingly appreciated that the gut-brain connection is equally important. Your moods may well be affected by what organisms are found in your gut, which in turn can affect your neurotransmitters. This is not a small deal because of the magnitude of mental illness in the Western world. Why we just recently lost two successful celebrities, Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain to suicide.We know that meds are not the complete answer. The research on the gut-brain connection is emerging. Because the microbiome varies from one individual to another, taking probiotics in mass may not be enough. One day we may be able to select which probiotics and prebiotics work best for a given individual with a given mood disorder.

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