I recently listened to a recorded presentation in which the speaker read the following quote from Ellen G. White, one of the founders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church:

If you are called upon to attend a council meeting, ask yourself whether your perceptive faculties are in a proper condition to weigh evidence. If you are not in a proper condition, if your brain is confused, you have no right to take part in the meeting. Are you fractious? Is your temper sweet and fragrant, or is it so disturbed and disagreeable that you will be led to make hasty decisions? Do you feel as though you would like to fight someone? Then do not go to the meeting; for if you go you will surely dishonor God. Take an ax and chop wood or engage in some physical exercise until your spirit is mild and easy to be entreated. Just as surely as your stomach is creating a disturbance in your brain, your words will create a disturbance in the assembly. More trouble is caused by disturbed digestive organs than many realize (Medical Ministry, p. 295, written in 1900).

My first reaction to this was that it is incredible wisdom. I also recognized that I would have benefited at times in the past if I had read this earlier and applied it, for there have been meetings I have attended that it would have been wiser for me to stay home. Thankfully, through God’s grace, I have learned to seek a sweet, calm, and kind temper when going to meetings; I have realized that when it’s likely that I will face severe disagreement in a meeting, the more I need to prepare my mind and heart before going.

But, the idea that the stomach and other digestive organs could be impacting the function of the brain really struck me—that a non-medical person in the year 1900 could connect one’s digestive function with brain function is somewhat incredible, for only recently has medical science discovered the gut-brain connection and the huge impact the microbiome of the gut has on brain function.

The adult gastrointestinal (GI) system contains a diverse community of various microorganisms (1 to 2 kilograms of bacteria), and the foods we eat directly impact which organisms thrive and which do not. And the organisms that live in our gut produce various byproducts of their metabolism that have an impact on our health and can actually interact with our physiology, producing either positive or negative effects.

Healthy bacteria improve our intestinal lining, reducing inflammation, whereas unhealthy bacteria contribute to leaky gut and increased inflammation, which contribute to a variety of health problems. Healthy bacteria produce brain neurotransmitters such as GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), serotonin, and other psychoactive compounds that make it to the brain and improve our mood and resilience, whereas unhealthy bacteria do not. Volunteers who received Lactobacillus helveticus R0052 plus B longum for 30 days reported significantly lower stress levels than those who received a placebo. And 124 volunteers (mean age, 61.8 years) who consumed probiotic-containing yogurt for three weeks had significantly improved mood compared with those who received a placebo. [1]

Four studies involving 36,556 adults found that adherence to a Mediterranean diet reduced the risk of depression by 33 percent compared to those on a regular American diet. At the other end of the spectrum, eating a pro-inflammatory diet high in fat, sugar, and processed food was linked with higher depression risk. [2]

As we gain weight and our BMI increases, the healthy bacteria Bacteroidetes decrease, and this is associated with greater rates of depression. [3]

Mental stress activates the body’s immune response, increasing inflammatory cytokines. This occurs because the body is perceiving, from the mental stress, potential external threats, much as would occur when a bear attacks, and activates the immune system to protect the person from bacterial or viral invaders in the same way if one were to be physically assaulted and had bite or claw marks. The body doesn’t know the difference between emotional/mental threats and real-world threats—such as an angry bear—and, thus, it responds with the same immune response.

The increasing inflammatory factors are intended to protect if one had invading bacteria or viruses, but since the increase is due to mental stress, these inflammatory factors instead cause problems to the body, such as insulin resistance, increasing the risk for type II diabetes, obesity, hypercholesterolemia, and other metabolic problems.

Chronic mental stress, sending the signal to the body of a threat, puts the body into emergency mode, which not only activates the immune system, increasing the inflammatory factors, but it also increases intestinal permeability, which in times of real threat and injury improves absorption of water and sodium. However, if this is not resolved by reducing the mental stress and threat signal going to the body, it can result in “leaky gut” and an increase in endotoxins entering the bloodstream, which further increases inflammation, and that increased inflammation is transmitted to the brain contributing to further mental health problems, such as depression and an increased risk for Alzheimer’s dementia.

Healthy gut bacteria can help improve the intestinal epithelial barrier and studies show that pre- and probiotics help achieve this, with subsequent decrease in inflammation in the body and improvement in mood in individuals suffering from depression. [4] [5] [6]

A 2023 study comparing various diets and mood found that a plant-based diet was associated with positive mood.[7] This is most likely due to a combination of factors that include reducing inflammation from the food, improving gut bacteria and the neurotransmitters they release, improving gut health with improved intestinal lining and reduction in “leaky gut” and, thereby, decreased inflammation and subsequent improvement in metabolic health and reductions in obesity.

Amazing as it seems, the counsel given over 100 years ago is not only wise but scientifically accurate! I encourage you to choose to live in harmony with the laws of health and make healthy food choices—you will improve your overall health and likely experience better mental and emotional health as well.

[1] Biol Psychiatry. 2013:74;708-709, 720-726

[2] Lassale C, Batty GD, Baghdadli A, et al. Healthy dietary indices and risk of depressive outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Molecular Psychiatry. 2018 September 26; [ePub ahead of print].

[3] Peirce, J., Alviña, K, The role of inflammation and the gut microbiome in depression and anxiety; The Journal of Neuroscience Research; Volume 97, Issue10; October 2019 p. 1223-1241. https://doi.org/10.1002/jnr.24476

[4] Ibid.

[5] Improves CNS astrocyte function with decreased neuro-inflammation Peirce, J., Alviña, K, The role of inflammation and the gut microbiome in depression and anxiety; The Journal of Neuroscience Research; Volume 97, Issue10; October 2019 p. 1223-1241. https://doi.org/10.1002/jnr.24476

[6] Kato‐Kataoka, A, et al., 2016 Applied and Environment Microbiology, 82(12), 3649–3658. https ://doi.org/10.1128/ AEM.04134-15.

[7] Food Funct., 2023, 14, 2326-2337 10.1039/D2FO02951K