Gut- Brain Axis: Impact of Diet on Mental Health

I'm sure many have heard of the blood-brain barrier; that selectively permeable layer of cells, held together by tight-junctions, which determine what molecules can pass from the blood stream into the brain. It is incredibly important that these cells work flawlessly to keep substances that might cause neural damage out of the brain.[1]Usually when we hear talk of the blood-brain barrier it's in regards to medication and medication research. Creating medications for brain function and mental health can be incredibly difficult because for any medication to work properly, it has to pass through this barrier.

For many years, the general consensus was that nothing could pass through the blood-brain barrier that wasn't meant to and nothing could make that barrier more permeable than it should be. However, within the last 10 years or so, as our technology has become more advanced and our understanding of the gut microbiota continues to broaden, a large (and quickly growing) body of research shows that the blood-brain barrier is not always as selectively permeable as we would hope.

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