Dr. Elisa Song, an integrative pediatrician, explains how the gut produces much of the body's serotonin and affects mental health. She recommends eating fiber-rich and fermented foods, practicing belly breathing to engage the vagus nerve, and using microbiome testing to create personalized gut-reset plans.
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You know how they say, trust your gut? Well, if you've been feeling anxious, stressed, or worn out lately, that's any day for me. That's exactly what you want to do. Trust your gut.
Yeah. It turns out the answer may lie in your stomach. Experts say your stomach has an impact on your mental health. So joining us now to break it all down, the connection for us is Dr. Elisa Song. She's an integrative pediatrician and chief medical officer at Tiny Health. Thank you for being here.
Thanks for having me.
She's also the author of a great book that came out last year, Healthy Kids, Happy Kids. Thank you for being here. So, Dr. Song, let's start with the basics, shall we? What is the gut brain that you talk about? The gut brain axis. For that matter, how does it impact your health?
Well, this is such an important issue because our kids and adults are facing a crisis in mental health. By the time kids are 18, 1 and 2 are going to be diagnosed with some sort of a mental health disorder. And what I want every parent, every child to know is that gut health is brain health. But 90% of our neurotransmitter called serotonin, which helps us feel good and calm and relaxed, is actually made by our gut microbiome. So if you have ADHD or anxiety or OCD or behavioral concerns, we have to start looking at the gut.
Okay.
Okay. So for people at home who want to make that transition and want to focus more on their gut, what are some science back things that they can do to feel better?
So there are actually many different things, and I actually talk about that in my book, Healthy Kids, Happy Kids. I teach kids and parents how to create microbiome magic every day. And so we can start with three simple steps. The first step is to feed your good guys. It is so important to feed the good microbes in our gut so that they can make neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine for us. So these are what I call microbiome champions our fiber filled whole grains and nuts and seeds. Seeds fermented foods like yogurt and kimchi and Korea.
And what's two and three?
And two and three. Number two is learning how to breathe with your belly and engage your vagus nerve. When we engage our vagus nerve, which is the communication between our gut and our brain, we calm the brain and we calm the gut. That is so important. And tip number three is using personalized testing through a microbiome test company. It's the only at home gold stage standard testing company called Tiny Health to get a truly personalized plan. I have a story of a 10 year old patient with ADHD, OCD and anxiety. And we started her on a gut reset program with personalized results from Tiny Health. And within one month, her parents called and told me we're getting our daughter back. It is so powerful.
And. And it's an easy test.
You mentioned it's a very easy test. Yeah, with a simple swab, you know, you're still very easy.
All right, thank you.
And you said you had, what is the actual test? You just swab and you send it off to a lab.
You do. It's an at home test. It's called Tiny Health and it is considered the gold standard in microbiome testing. So a simple swab, you send it off and we can give you precision analysis of what's going on in your child's gut. In your gut to help us optimize your hormones, your brain health, your immune health.
All right, Doctor, thank you so much. Really appreciate you being here. Thanks for having me. To learn more about Tiny Health at home school gut test, otherwise you can head to tinyhealth.
