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NEUROTRANSMITTERS are chemical messengers the gut and brain use to communicate with one another. They are produced by the brain in our head and the brain in our gut, aka the ‘little brain’. Neurotransmitters affect the ‘mood’ of both brains, and lower levels of some of them are seen in cases of depression and anxiety and gut conditions such as IBS.
‘Happy’ neurotransmitter serotonin plays a significant role in mood and a whopping 90 to 95 per cent of serotonin production in our body is from our little brain. Manufacture depends on enterochromaffin cells that sit in the lining of the gut, are packed full of serotonin and rely on gut microbes to ‘switch on’.