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CultureHealth

Gut Health in the Ghettos: How Food Deserts Are Affecting Our Mental Health

May 14, 2025

Aisles of processed junk foods with bright-colored packaging and artificial drinks fill the corner stores of many low-income neighborhoods, where access to fresh, organic produce is scarce, and grocery stores are disproportionately less stocked compared to high-end retailers like Whole Foods and Kroger in wealthier areas. Creating what’s known as food deserts or geographic areas where residents have limited access to affordable, nutritious foods like fruits and vegetables, yet are surrounded by fast food chains, liquor stores, and cheap, processed meals. They often don’t supply non-GMO (genetically modified organism), healthy options and alternatives for food allergy sensitivities or diet preferences like veganism. These food deserts, more than just economic and social justice issues, contribute to environmental harm due to landmine methane emissions and exacerbate health disparities, especially in Black and brown communities, where people are systematically disadvantaged when it comes to gut-nourishing food due to imperialistic structures. Recent research confirms a strong gut-mind connection, making the saying “you are what you eat” scientifically accurate in how diet influences thought, behavior, and overall well-being—simply put, “you think how you eat,” and your lack of microbiome could amplify your mental health issues. The ghettos of the world are full of fast food chains that offer low prices and feed families but leave lasting damage, forcing those struggling to make ends meet to choose quantity over quality. We are facing food apartheid and a global food crisis, as “around 733 million people faced hunger in 2023,” but local healers, herbalists, nutritionists, and gut experts are guiding BIPOC communities back to ancestral methods to reclaim their health and healing.

We asked Genail “Genny Mack” McKinley, a holistic nutritionist and autoimmune health educator who helps individuals heal their gut to address chronic illnesses on how food can affect your mental health. McKinley states, “The gut and brain are in constant communication through what’s known as the gut-brain axis—a system that connects our nervous, immune, and hormonal pathways.” But the real shocker is that “95 percent of serotonin, one of our key mood-regulating neurotransmitters, is produced in the gut,” she adds. Now, consider for a moment whether your diet is costing you your happiness. McKinley continues, “When the gut is inflamed or out of balance—due to poor diet, environmental toxins, stress, or medications—this communication breaks down, contributing to symptoms like anxiety, brain fog, depression, and mood instability.” As a nutritionist, she has “seen how restoring gut health through food, nervous system regulation, and lifestyle shifts can support people in addressing emotional dysregulation.” 

Caribbean-American herbalist Brianna Cherniak, the founder of Moss Medicine, an herbal apothecary with intentional remedies and community focused on accessible ancestral education, also contributes her knowledge as a health educator. “The gut and brain are deeply connected through the vagus nerve, one of the longest and most important nerves in the body,” Cherniak says. For those that don’t know, “the vagus nerve acts like a communication pathway and sends messages between the gut and the brain. Because of the vagus nerve, when there is an imbalance in the gut, it travels upward, deeply influencing mood, mental clarity, and overall emotional resilience,” she continues. Brianna sees this repetitively with clients. “People often report that after supporting or cleansing their gut, their mind feels more balanced, lighter, and clearer.” The body is a complex, intricate system that runs best with healthy, nourishing food, but what happens when that’s not an option?

“Fast food is packed with saturated fats, refined flours, synthetic ingredients, and chemicals,” McKinley notes. “Over time, eating these processed foods damages the gut, lowers beneficial bacteria, and increases inflammation, which impacts digestion, mood, and immune health,” Genny adds. America is suffering from high obesity and diabetes rates as a result. In many marginalized neighborhoods, food isn’t just scarce; it’s strategically restricted and reflects systems that uphold poverty. Neighborhoods where Black people make up 80 percent of the population “have 2.4 fast-food restaurants per square mile, compared to 1.5 in predominantly white neighborhoods”, McKinley explains, which is not coincidental. “It’s a result of structural inequality that limits access to real, nourishing food.” 

Due to restrictive donation policies, major grocery stores and restaurants discard tons of edible food daily. ReFED reports that “retailers generated 4.45M tons of surplus food, with 35% ending up in landfills or incinerated. Globally, 2.5 billion tons of food go to waste annually, and America trumps the other countries, wasting about 60 million tons, or “nearly $218 billion – the equivalent of 130 billion meals.” Meanwhile, “47.4 million people lived in food-insecure households” in 2023. Currently, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, children go hungry at escalating rates from hunger, and Palestinians face the “critical risk” of famine while in the midst of a genocide. Healthy food has become a luxury instead of a fundamental human right, showing that the problem of accessibility is rooted in oppression. As McKinley puts it, “gut health is personal, but it’s also political. In Black and brown communities, emotional regulation is often shaped not just by what’s on our plate, but by the weight of intergenerational trauma.”

As a medicine woman, I guide clients through ancestral healing, often with psychedelics, to address depression, chronic illness, and lineage-related conditions. “Many of us are navigating conditions passed down across generations, and it becomes a daily act of resistance to choose nourishment, rest, and lifestyle shifts that support our well-being,” says McKinley. For the BIPOC community, reclaiming ancestral knowledge is vital for decolonizing wellness. Chantel Robertson, CEO of Upful Blends, healed six illnesses in 30 days and emphasizes, “The gut and the mind aren’t two systems. They’re mirrors of the same internal world. Our ancestors didn’t need studies to understand that when the belly is in disease, the mind and the spirit begin to unravel.” On an energetic level, Robertson adds, “The digestive system… is the house of personal power, self-esteem, and intuition. It’s where our sense of self is digested.” The gut connects to the sacral chakra, which governs creativity and life force, so having a strong physical core is essential. Robertson warns, “When your power is in alignment, your gut thrives. When you’re leaking energy, people-pleasing, living in fear, suppressing the truth, it often shows up in gut-related diseases (ulcers, IBS, fatigue, adrenal burnout, etc.).” 

We consume endless information daily, and “our gut processes everything in our lives—turning not just food but experiences, emotions, and lessons into life force fuel,” says Robertson, warning that if we don’t digest our emotions, our physical digestion will mirror that block. Eating while stressed or upset feeds the body that same energy, leading to illness. “70 percent of our immune system is in our gut,” notes Lisa A. Smith, founder of The Plant Protocol. Lisa has spent a decade supporting clients in optimal health by eliminating chronic stress and lifestyle disease adding, “chronic stress and trauma impact the gut in a very serious way,” acting as an immunosuppressant. Elevated cortisol and adrenaline signal danger, triggering fight-or-flight and reducing blood flow to the gut—”intentionally slowing down certain mechanisms like digestion and immunity,” she explains. “Now, the issue is that today, for most of us, our stressors are not physical threats. They are circumstantial. They are emotional threats. They are our thoughts,” Smith continues.Yet the body still reacts as if in danger, keeping stress hormones high. This weakens the immune system, making the body more acidic, something Dr. Sebi warned against who believed the foundation of health is in restoring the PH levels. Trauma can negatively affect the gut, as “we can be eating healthy, but we’re not able to extract the nutrients, the vitamins, and minerals, from all the healthy foods that we’re eating, because our digestion has been negatively impacted by elevated levels of stress hormones” Smith cautions.

How can BIPOC communities address this issue while managing food access? Cherniak, raised in NYC’s food deserts, says, “Keep your food as colorful as possible. The microbiome thrives on diversity.” She advises shopping the outer grocery aisles for fresh produce and limiting processed foods found in the center of stores. Genny recommends, “Foods rich in prebiotics, like onions, plantains, oats, seaweed, chickpeas, asparagus, dandelion greens, and other fiber-rich plants, help feed beneficial bacteria in the gut.” She adds, “Probiotic foods such as sauerkraut, miso, and kefir introduce live cultures that support microbial balance. Together, these foods increase microbial diversity, which plays a key role in reducing inflammation, balancing neurotransmitter production, and stabilizing our mood and stress response.” If you live on a budget or in a food desert without access, Cherniak says. “You can create probiotic-rich foods at home through simple fermentation, like pickling vegetables and garlic. There are accessible ways to support the gut without spending a lot of money.” Some other easy-to-find herbs include ginger and anise, which Chantel advises trying. “Orange peel is naturally rich in volatile oils, which are responsible for its bright scent and flavor, and those oils are incredible for soothing the stomach,” Cherniak mentions.

Robertson also suggests consuming “herbs (tea, tinctures, syrups, food) to help your gut navigate these changes, detox toxins, hormones, and parasites aiding to any cravings or gut impact.” She recommends accessible herbs like fennel and clove as They are antimicrobial, support digestion, and can be found in any grocery store. Bay leaf is another beautiful herb. It is gentle, accessible, and can help stimulate digestion and soothe the gut.” Chantel also emphasizes mindful eating: “Chew slowly. Eat mindfully. Don’t scroll while you eat. Your body can’t digest if it’s in fight-or-flight mode. Gut health isn’t just what you eat; it’s how you exist while you eat.” It’s crucial not to stomach your emotions by eating while upset, angry, or under stress. As a mindfulness teacher, I teach breathwork like diaphragm or box breathing to regulate the nervous system and reduce stress. Smith also recommends “MBSR, which stands for mindfulness-based stress reduction,” calling it “extremely powerful when it comes to gut healing and the reduction of stress,” alongside yoga, affirmations, and meditation.

Social justice movements are bridging the gap where capitalism has failed by transforming food systems through grassroots efforts like community fridges, mutual aid food pantries, and neighborhood produce swaps in the heart of food deserts. These efforts redistribute excess food from restaurants, farms, and grocery stores into gut-healing staples such as fresh fruits, vegetables, and fermented foods, turning discarded abundance into nourishment, dignity, and collective care. On a national scale, the USDA and EPA have committed to “reduce food waste by 50 percent” by 2030. While GMO companies continue to exploit developing countries, degrade topsoil, and worsen climate change, making equitable access to organic food an urgent priority. Healing our gut is not just a return to core health. It’s “a powerful act of resistance, remembrance, and food justice for collective liberation.” As gut educator McKinley puts it, “Mental health isn’t just in the mind—it’s also in the microbiome,” to truly heal, we must examine not only what we eat and how we think but also the systemic barriers to nourishment. Smith reminds us that “the beliefs we have about our life and the relationships we’re in… all play a role” in gut health, while Robertson emphasizes, “Our relationship with the gut is a living feedback loop. It’s all connected, physically, energetically, and spiritually.” Addressing food deserts and global food crises demands systemic change, waste reduction, and long-term solutions that tackle the intertwined impacts of industrial agriculture, social inequity, and climate change.



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