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Miranda Meyer: Your Gut Brain Guide, Denver, CO (2026)

07/23/2026

Anxiety often starts in the body, not the brain.

So you get stuck trying to think your way out of it, because you're missing the bigger picture 🖼️

So let's zoom out. Your gut and brain stay in constant contact through the 𝐯𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞. It's a physical pathway carrying signals in both directions, all day, every day.

When your gut is inflamed, those signals change. And so does what your brain receives.

This is part of why so many of my clients describe anxiety that doesn't match their circumstances. Life looks fine on paper, but their nervous system doesn't feel fine.

What I hear from them:

➡️ Anxiety that spikes without an obvious trigger
➡️ Trouble focusing, even with sleep and stress managed
➡️ Mood that changes based on what they ate more than what they perceived as "stressful"

None of this means it's all in your head. It also doesn't mean it's purely physical.

It means the two systems are more connected than most of us were ever taught. If you've been managing anxiety for years without ever asking what your gut has to do with it, that's usually where I start.

What do you think your gut has been trying to tell you?

07/22/2026

Your gut sends more messages to the brain than the brain sends to the entire body 🧠

Most people think of the brain as the "control center" of the body. And we used to think 𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 (the chemical messengers that influence our motivation, mood, and focus) were made 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 in the brain.

But your gut is called "the second brain" for a reason. And we know now that your gut microbiome plays a direct role in producing neurotransmitters.

Certain gut bacteria synthesize precursors to "feel good" chemicals like serotonin, GABA, and dopamine.

Others ferment fiber into short chain fatty acids, compounds like butyrate that feed the cells lining your gut, lower inflammation, and cross into circulation to support brain function and energy.

Your gut bacteria also produce B vitamins, including B12, folate, and biotin. These are required for energy production and building the hormones and chemical messengers that keep our brains running smoothly.

When I see low energy and struggles with focus and motivation, I 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 look at the gut. Because I know part of the root cause is an unhealthy microbiome that's not producing what the brain needs to function.

This is why gut health and brain health can't be separated. Your gut bacteria are either supporting your brain, or slowly sabotaging it.

PS. If you've been told your labs are normal but you still feel exhausted and unfocused, this is exactly where I start with clients. DM me "READY" and I'll share what I'd look at first.

07/15/2026

Your age shouldn't matter when it comes to testing your thyroid. But most providers still treat it like it does.

I recently worked with a client in her twenties who'd spent years dealing with fatigue, anxiety, low mood, and unpredictable IBS symptoms 😩

Every test Kaiser had run came back "normal" aside from low iron, which no one had ever flagged (fun fact, low iron affects thyroid hormones). Her thyroid had never even been tested, because thyroid issues are still treated as something that shows up later in life. Not in your twenties.

When we finally ran comprehensive testing, her thyroid function was low. And her thyroid antibodies, both TPO and thyroglobulin, were significantly elevated.

This told me that the root cause wasn't her thyroid, it was her 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮. Elevated antibodies uncovered an autoimmune response against the thyroid. This means her immune system was attacking her thyroid, leading to low thyroid function and depressed thyroid hormone levels.

Breath testing uncovered something else: SIBO, or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, explaining the IBS symptoms she'd been experiencing for years. This type of overgrowth is commonly found in women with autoimmune thyroid.

Once we were able to see the full picture, we could finally work with her body instead of guessing.

➡️ Supporting her gut.
➡️ Calming the immune response.
➡️ Giving her thyroid the environment it needed to function again.

Fatigue, anxiety, and gut symptoms showing up together is a 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯, not a coincidence. And "normal" labs don't mean nothing is wrong. Often, they mean the right tests just haven't been run yet.

07/10/2026

For years, I thought something was wrong with me 😞

The inconsistency. The brain fog. The way I could dive into work one day and barely function the next.

I called myself lazy. Undisciplined. "Not cut out" for entrepreneurship.

𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴. In reality, my brain was not getting what it needed, and I was blaming myself for it.

I didn't understand that my "flaws" were simply symptoms of undiagnosed ADHD.

That my blood sugar was on a rollercoaster, and my energy, focus, and hormones were at the mercy of these ups and downs that felt uncontrollable.

That my gut was inflamed, and I didn't have the tools necessary to produce serotonin and other chemicals that could stabilize me.

And the stories I was telling myself quietly wrecked my confidence. I second-guessed all my decisions. I shrank in rooms I could have 𝘳𝘶𝘯. I nearly walked away from the career I was building because I felt like a complete failure.

Then I did the work I now do with clients. I stabilized my blood sugar. I supported my gut health. I learned to work 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 my ADHD Instead of against it.

And slowly but steadily, the fog lifted.

When you are well (physically and mentally), everything expands. My business thrives when I am regulated. My life feels more meaningful. I have the bandwidth to show up for friends and the people I love.

That is the outcome I want for you too. Not a perfect protocol. A body and brain that let you build the life you are working so hard for.

What is something you have blamed on your character that might actually be your biology?

07/08/2026

An SSRI can't recycle what you don't have...

SSRI (the most commonly prescribed type of anti depressant) stands for 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘶𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳. It works by blocking the reabsorption of serotonin, which keeps more available in the spaces between your nerve cells for longer.

But here is what often goes unexplained, and people are left wondering why their medication isn't working:

An SSRI recycles the serotonin 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴. What it does NOT do is give you serotonin directly, or make more of it.

So the questions we should be asking are:

→ Where is the serotonin coming from? 𝟿𝟶% 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘨𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢.

→ And what happens when the gut isn't producing enough serotonin? 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩.

The medication may or may not help if it's working with limited raw material.

So what do we do for low serotonin? 𝘞𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘵.

We focus on things like:

→ Nutrient dense whole foods
→ Fiber and phytonutrients from plant foods that feed our beneficial bacteria
→ Adding more healthy bacteria through probiotic rich foods and supplementation, where needed
→ Removing infections or bacterial overgrowths that may be compromising gut function

None of this is designed to replace medical care or working with a licensed therapist, especially for more serious mental health issues. It's designed to work alongside other therapies, and give your body more of what it needs to make care more 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 💜

07/07/2026

Medication alone is 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 the whole answer.

The brain chemistry model taught us many things, but also left us with an incomplete picture 🧠

The idea goes like this: depression, anxiety, and ADHD come from a chemical imbalance, and medication corrects it. I want to be clear that for some people, medication genuinely helps, and can be a useful tool.

But there's a reason why medications work for some and not for others, and the medication only model has massive gaps.

Your brain is not this isolated control center that "runs" the rest of the body. Rather, your body and brain are in constant communication, and what happens in one area sends signals to all others.

And three things shape the state of the brain more than almost anything else:

𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. When the body is chronically inflamed, that inflammation hits the brain. Hard. Neuroinflammation is consistently associated with
depression, anxiety, and cognitive symptoms, and it can blunt how well medications work.

𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐫. Every crash due to a skipped meal or running on caffeine cuts off the fuel supply to your brain and sends cortisol up, increasing anxiety. A brain riding a blood sugar rollercoaster cannot regulate itself well, no matter what prescription you take.

𝐆𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡. Most of your serotonin is produced in the gut. An SSRI antidepressant (the most commonly prescribed) is designed to recycle serotonin already in the body, they do not GIVE you serotonin directly.

These are the reasons I see women on various medications who still do not feel like themselves, because the foundation beneath the medication
was never addressed.

𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢-𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐩𝐫𝐨-𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

And medication can work 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 when the body it is working in is fully supported.

07/03/2026

Your brain reacts to certain foods long after you've eaten them...

Some of the most common foods in our diet can impact brain fog, mood swings, and anxiety 🫣 And reactions to these foods can be sneaky. They can happen almost immediately, or they can take 48-72 hours to appear!

The top offenders I see in practice:

✔️ Gluten can cause an inflammatory response in the gut of sensitive individuals. This inflammation breaches both the gut and blood-brain barriers, irritating the brain and showing up as fog, mood shifts, and anxiety. We also see higher rates of anxiety and depression in Celiac disease, the more severe autoimmune response to gluten.

✔️ Dairy contains casein, which breaks down into casomorphins, or opioid-like peptides. For some, that "I can't quit cheese" feeling isn't only about taste. It's a biologically addictive food that lights up morphine receptors and pleasure centers in the brain.

✔️ Sugar hits the same dopamine and reward circuitry as other compulsive habits (like ni****ne and alcohol), resulting in a temporary high. Then it drops you into irritability and cravings.

✔️ Artificial dyes and sweeteners. These chemicals are excitotoxins, and can overstimulate certain areas of the brain, resulting in hyperactivity (physical or mental) and behavioral changes.

You don't have to fear food. The point is being an informed consumer, so you can choose what you include and what you avoid based on how it makes you FEEL.

07/02/2026

Brain health doesn't start in the brain: it starts with what you eat 🤯

That saying "you are what you eat?" Turns out, it was right on the mark.

Mainstream medicine treats brain fog, depression, and anxiety as problems that live in the head. But these issues don't start in the brain, they start in the body: mainly, the gut.

Gut bacteria produce about 90% of your serotonin. Your gut also makes around 50% of your dopamine, the driver of focus, motivation, and attention.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘤𝘰 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮.

The standard American diet (or SAD - isn't that ironic?!) is low in nutrition and high in ultra processed foods. When the food you eat is poor quality, healthy bacteria don't get the fiber and nutrients they need to thrive. The raw materials your brain literally needs to manage mood, focus, and steady energy are missing.

What I consistently see in the women I work with, is that the foods they choose each day set the tone for how their brain performs.

Quality food ➡️ Calmer gut ➡️ Clearer head. In that order. You don't need a perfect diet to feel the difference. You simply need food your body actually recognizes 💛

07/01/2026

I'm so sick of the profit over people approach in public health 😡

Last week the Supreme Court sided with Monsanto, the multibillion dollar biotech company (owned by Bayer) that produces agricultural pesticides such as Roundup. Organizations including the IARC and WHO have been warning for years about the links between this chemical and various forms of cancer.

In a 7-2 decision, the court ruled that Monsanto can't be held liable under state law for failing to warn people via clear labeling of products about the cancer risks tied to Roundup. This happened despite tens of thousands of lawsuits against the company and billions already paid out in damages and settlements, with another $7.25 billion class settlement currently on the table.

I'm not here to argue the legal mechanics. I'm here because of what this signals. When the burden keeps landing on the consumer to prove harm, instead of on the company to prove safety, we are all left to do our own homework.

Let's talk about what that means for your body:

Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, is one of the most widely used herbicides in the world. It shows up as residue on many conventional grains and produce items. And research has shown it 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘳𝘶𝘱𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘨𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦.

You can't control a courtroom. But you can control what you choose to put on your plate. Vote with your dollar.

➡️ Choose organic for produce items most likely to carry glyphosate residue, such as thin skinned produce and the EWG's "Dirty Dozen."

➡️Wash what you bring home. I like to soak fruits and vegetables in baking soda before rinsing to help remove any pesticide residue.

➡️Support the gut with healing foods such as bone broth, grass fed gelatin, and fermented foods that provide probiotics.

This isn't about spreading fear. It's about taking back control and advocating for your health.

06/25/2026

ADHD doesn't always look like a kid who can't sit still. And that single misconception is why so many women go undiagnosed for decades...

When most people picture hyperactivity, they picture the 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 version. The restlessness. The fidgeting. The inability to stay seated. That presentation is real, and it's the one the diagnostic criteria were largely built around.

But for many women, hyperactivity isn't physical: it's 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭. It looks like:

→ Racing thoughts.
→ Twelve browser tabs open in your brain at all times.
→ Replaying conversations, planning three steps ahead, and lying awake at night because your brain refuses to power down.

From the outside, she looks calm and put together. On the inside, she's doing mental gymnastics. So what happens when she seeks help?

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘺𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘹𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺.

She gets handed an anxiety diagnosis, maybe a prescription, and the ADHD underneath it never gets identified. The restlessness, the overwhelm, the racing mind, all of it gets treated as a mood disorder when it's a different root cause entirely.

This is one of the most common patterns I see in the women I work with. They're driven, smart, and capable. They've been told for years (or decades) they have anxiety.

But when we look closer, the picture that emerges is a brain that has been mentally hyperactive since childhood, never recognized because it didn't show up as the physical version everyone was looking for.

This isn't about replacing one label with another. It's about getting to what's actually driving the symptoms, because the support for an ADHD brain looks very different from generic anxiety management.

One 𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐩 that helps calm a mentally hyperactive brain: pair your carbohydrates with protein and fat, and don't eat them naked. A carb on its own spikes blood sugar and then drops it, and that crash shows up as more racing thoughts, more irritability, and more of that "wired-but-tired" feeling.

Stabilizing blood sugar won't cure ADHD, but it takes a real layer of noise out of an already busy brain.

Miranda Meyer: Your Gut Brain Guide

07/23/2026

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