Feeding Our Good Gut Bacteria Feeds the Happy Hormones in Our Brain!

A few weeks ago, I sent an email to some of the people who had completed the Transform Your Life Through Fresh and Natural Food project, asking if anyone would like to share an inspirational story.

It is always so heart-warming when we receive stories back that truly show how much healthy eating matters. It doesn’t just make us feel a bit better — it can be life-changing, especially when it comes to mental health.

Below is an inspirational story from a young girl who wishes to remain anonymous.

“When I first joined Live Naturally’s courses, I was in a really dark place. I didn’t want to live at all, and even leaving my room for more than a couple of hours felt impossible. I didn’t want to eat or drink because it felt like it would only prolong my existence. Everything I once loved felt empty, and I felt abandoned by everyone — totally alone and friendless.

Burnt out, depressed, anxious, and utterly hopeless, I started making tiny changes with Solveig’s help. She didn’t overwhelm me — she simply encouraged me to leave the house for an hour each week. She gave me emotional support, a safe and understanding space, and slowly helped me rebuild the basic building blocks of a healthy life in small, manageable steps.

I’d always been a really fussy eater with a huge sweet tooth. At that time, the only thing I could manage to eat — if I ate at all — was cake, because I was chasing that quick dopamine hit. I didn’t realise that by doing this, I was actually starving the good bacteria and microbes in my gut.

The first thing she taught me about was glucose and sugar spikes. I remember one day when I was in absolute tears, hadn’t eaten anything, and all I wanted was something sweet to cheer myself up. Instead of judging me (or even laughing at me, for that matter!), she handed me a few bits of chocolate mixed into natural yoghurt with some whole-grain cereal.

She used that moment to teach me that I had to start making tiny changes from my starting point. I couldn’t go straight from chocolate and cake to a huge salad. I had to gradually add new foods into my diet. I learned how to “clothe” the sugar to prevent those extreme mood swings and feed my gut microbes, so I could tolerate healthy food again.

She also taught me about the government’s healthy plate guidelines. I’d always found them confusing, but she simplified everything into three parts: protein, vegetables, and healthy carbohydrates. Instead of taking foods away, she helped me add to my plate.

Every time I ate a wider variety of foods, it strengthened my gut microbiome — and that slowly shifted things in my brain so that healthy foods didn’t feel so repulsive. This took a long time, and sometimes she would literally add just a teaspoon of a new food, simply to introduce it gently to my system.

But the results were real, and everyone around me noticed them too. As my gut microbiome improved, foods I used to gag at — especially vegetables — started appearing on my plate because I actually wanted them there.

My ability to cope with life grew alongside this. My work hours gradually increased, and after nearly a year, I was back working full-time. The things I once enjoyed slowly returned, and I realised my friends had been there all along — I had just been too deep in despair to see it.

Those feelings of hopelessness were incredibly hard to bear, and the memories of that time are still strong. But now I feel empowered with the tools to help myself.

Whenever I fall back into that mindset where everything feels terrible — where I feel like a failure and nothing seems to work out — I’m reminded of Solveig’s guidance. She never dismissed my feelings. She acknowledged them without judgement and reminded me that what I was experiencing was my “gut feeling,” and in its own way, it felt true. But the powerful thing about a gut feeling is that it’s physical — and physical things can change. It’s within our control. As Solveig would say: “Change your gut, change your life.”

I’ve learned that when life feels overwhelming, I often need to return to these basic fundamentals. When I get those in order and fuel myself with the right foods, the positive effects ripple into every part of my life. I can literally trace my life meltdowns back to the times when I’ve neglected my gut and reached for quick, energy-spiking foods instead of nourishing my gut microbes.

Thank you so much to Solveig and the Hinkley Point Community Fund for saving my life.”