No matter what season of your life in which you find yourself, there will always be something that gets to you, eats away at your peace, worms itself into your thoughts. As humans, stress is inevitable because, like the tides of the oceans, life has its highs and lows. This can stem from a big life change or challenge, a build up of smaller stressors, or even a mental health condition. The future is unknown until it becomes the present.
When we find ourselves riding a low, our mental response has an effect on our entire body. You might experience stomach discomfort when work becomes overwhelming, or headaches when life at home hits a few bumps in the road. Sleep becomes evasive, and some people even experience heart issues because of anxious feelings.
This physiological response to the inner workings of your mind is how scientists know your brain activity contributes to your overall health.
Overcoming Anxiety Naturally
The gut health world is acutely aware of the physiological connection between the gut and brain. Our brains receive the signal to release many mood-affecting hormones from the gut, and the hormones that our brains release have an effect on gut health.
The Gut & Brain Connection
Your brain is filled with hundreds of naturally occurring chemicals that carry messages called neurotransmitters. Their main function is to convey information around your brain to help govern your responses to certain situations. When these chemicals get out of balance, you’re more likely to develop mood and anxiety disorders.
But your mood isn’t the only thing affected by an imbalance of chemicals. If you’ve ever felt nauseous when you’re nervous, that’s your brain interacting with your gut. Conversely, the composition of your gut microbiome can harm or help your anxiety levels. Did you know that 95% of your serotonin levels originate from your gut1? Serotonin (the happy hormone) is a mood regulator and helps you get great sleep. So when your gut is off, so is your serotonin.
There are several other neurotransmitters that your brain and gut both produce and respond to. Norepinephrine is responsible for how you react to stress and anxiety as a part of your flight-or-fight response. When your norepinephrine levels get too high, it can lead to high anxiety, high blood pressure, elevated heart rate, and stress on your organs.
Bone Broth
Cue the natural healing properties of OWL Broth Elixirs. We simmer our bones for over twenty-four hours in gut-friendly apple cider vinegar. This ensures that the maximum amount of nutrients soak out of our naturally-sourced bones and into the broth itself. The result is an elixir of revitalizing collagen, nourishing gelatin, an abundance of vitamins and minerals, and essential amino acids. Bone broth has an impressive amino acid profile including:
- Arginine
- Chondroitin
- Glucosamine
- Glutamine
- & Glycine
We’re zeroing in on glycine. Not only does glycine keep your gut healthy by staving off inflammation and protecting against ulcers. It’s also directly involved in brain health. Glycine can boost memory performance, as well as improve mental clarity and performance.
In general, glycine has a calming effect on all neurotransmitters as a neuroinhibitor. Studies show that glycine can help inhibit the production of norepinephrine. This neurotransmitter can throw off your sleep patterns and blood sugar levels. Because of the calming effect that glycine promotes within your brain, this will improve your quality of sleep which can significantly improve your experience with anxiety. Glycine can also decrease instances of anxiety episodes and lessen the intensity of anxious feelings overall2.
Healing Herbal Remedies
What sets OWL Broth Elixirs apart from other broths is the absence of that meaty flavor we all associate with bone broth. Instead, we infuse our elixirs with healing medicinal herbs that add an aromatic quality to each type of broth. This makes them taste more like tea and enjoyable to sip straight from a mug. But they still serve as an excellent base for all of your favorite soups!
The herbs and spices we choose to include in our Broth Elixirs all serve a specific purpose. For example, we use rosemary to support your immune system, turmeric to reduce inflammation, cilantro to draw out heavy toxic metals, ginger to calm your stomach, and many more.
Several of our special plants help to reduce anxiety naturally3. Each one is thoughtfully chosen so that we can bring you the most complete and restorative experience from our healing concoctions.
GINGER
Ginger is a common stomach pain reliever and anti-inflammatory. It goes without saying that this root belongs in a recipe for gut healing. But ginger also serves as an anxiety reducer. Studies show that of the fourteen bioactive compounds found inside ginger, nine of them interact with human serotonin receptors inside the gut4.
TURMERIC
Circumin is the bioactive compound found in turmeric that does a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to your body’s health. One of the many healing powers of circumin includes its ability to treat both anxiety and depression5. This is due to the boost it gives to your serotonin and dopamine levels.
CILANTRO
Though more research is needed, some studies show that cilantro can have a mild calming effect on feelings of anxiety6. This is due to the high content of the flavonoid quercetin. One study7 shows the significant effect quercetin can have on anxiety levels in certain patients.
LAVENDER
Lavender is by far the most widely known calming herb, and for a great reason. Studies show that lavender has an effect on the parasympathetic nervous system which controls your body’s functions that are associated with anxiety including: hormone secretion, heart rate, and the rhythm of your breathing8.
Furthermore, lavender has a beneficial effect on insomnia, sleep quality, stress levels, and depression in adults. One study showed taking lavender orally for at least six weeks provided improvement of life quality and general mental health of 50 patients living with post-traumatic stress.
Relax, Restore, Repair
OWL Broth Elixirs were created with the notion that for the body to heal and be healthy, the gut must be in balance. Free of inflammation, plenty of good bacteria, and a higher quality of life, you’ll experience the physical and mental enhancements on which your body was meant to thrive. A healthy gut leads to a healthy mind. A healthy mind leads to a happier you.
Sources:
- That gut feeling (apa.org)
- Glycine inhibition of glutamate evoked-release of norepinephrine in the hypothalamus is strychnine-insensitive - PubMed (nih.gov)
- Herbal Medicine for Anxiety, Depression and Insomnia - PMC (nih.gov)
- Identification of serotonin 5-HT1A receptor partial agonists in ginger - PubMed (nih.gov)
- Efficacy of Curcumin in the Modulation of Anxiety Provoked by Sulfite, a Food Preservative, in Rats - PMC (nih.gov)
- Anti-anxiety activity of Coriandrum sativum assessed using different experimental anxiety models - PubMed (nih.gov)
- Quercetin mitigates anxiety-like behavior and normalizes hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis function in a mouse model of mild traumatic brain injury - PubMed (nih.gov)
- Lavender and the Nervous System - PMC (nih.gov)
Julie Weller
Julie is a self-made writer on a forever journey of fitness and health. As a high school music teacher, she has seen and experienced the challenges of maintaining good health while simultaneously balancing a career and healthy relationships.
Julie has always lived a healthy and active lifestyle. She loves the outdoors, hiking, and camping. Over the years she has continued to learn smarter and better ways to take care of her body while continuing to do the things that make her smile. Naturally, all of her teacher friends wanted to know how she did it - what was her secret?
Julie found herself explaining over and over everything she'd learned in her research, and sharing her experiences through trial and error. Her friends would take her advice, try some new things, and then come back to ask how to take it to the next level.
"You should charge for this kind of information!" Became a constant phrase, and so began her career of writing to share her knowledge with the world through health and wellness companies looking to spread healing and healthy habits within their communities. Now Julie gets to combine two of the things she enjoys most - writing and wellness - and use them to affect change in a real way.
When not making music with her kiddos, or writing wellness tips for a higher quality of life, you can find her reading, hiking, drumming, and fitnessing