It’s probably not surprising that symptoms like upset stomach, gas and bloating are often related to gut health. But you may be surprised to learn that other seemingly unrelated symptoms can be linked to the health of the digestive system. Headaches, constantly clearing your throat and feeling down might be an indicator of poor gut health.

We’ll point out a few of these troublesome symptoms and suggest some first steps to potentially improve them. But keep in the mind, the main point here is really to open your eyes to ways that gut health can affect many parts of the body; and if some of these symptoms are strongly familiar, to get you to a gastroenterologist or a gut-health dietitian.

The central nervous system and the intestinal tract are connected in a communication network known as the gut-brain axis. When the gut is healthy, the brain generally is too. Of course, the opposite can be true and mental health can suffer when gut health is poor.

Regularly eating both probiotics and fiber have been linked to reduced gut inflammation and improved mental health in some population studies. In one study, people who ate the most fermented dairy foods and fermented vegetables (like kimchi) had fewer symptoms of depression than those who did not eat these probiotic foods regularly. Other studies, including this intervention study have reported results.

One mechanism for this positive effect may be that probiotics and fiber in the gut help increase the secretion of the “feel-good” neurotransmitter serotonin and other brain chemicals.

There are likely hundreds of reasons people get headaches. But one thing is usually consistent: a headache is a first sign that something is not quite right within the body. It’s one way your immune system indicates to the rest of you, “Hello, there’s a problem!” The gut is the largest organ within the immune system – after the skin. And if the gut doesn’t have a good balance of good bacteria over bad bacteria – (or isn’t processing histamines) the resulting unbalanced microbiome may lead to headaches or even migraines.

Once you’ve ruled out some of the most common causes including excess caffeine, an irregular meal schedule, dehydration, seasonal allergies and other more obvious headache causes, you may consider your gut health.

The first step to improving headaches may be surprisingly simple: researchers have found that eating a high-fiber diet can decrease the number of migraine headaches, and reduce their severity.

One of the worst things you can do for your gut on a daily basis is to take ibuprofen or naproxen says Erin Kenney, MS, RD, LDN, HCP, CPT, gut health dietitian at Nutrition Rewired. “It can be a vicious cycle where daily use of these drugs actually increases the need for them more because you are hurting other systems of the body that now become inflamed,” explains Kenney.

Kenney points to researchers that have shown that natural herbs and supplements like fish oil, green tea, turmeric, capsaicin and others have similar mechanisms of action as certain NSAID drugs such as ibuprofen.

“When I work with clients, we often find that the root cause of pain can be addressed through diet, lifestyle and addressing underlying gut or hormonal imbalances, food sensitivities or allergies,” says Kenney.

Perhaps you have felt burning in your chest after eating spicy foods – and complained of heartburn. Or maybe you are constantly clearing your throat or feel like you have a lump in your throat that’s hard to swallow. These symptoms are often caused by acid reflux, when stomach acid flows back into the throat.

Having acid reflux two or more times weekly is considered gastrointestinal esophageal reflux disease (GERD), explains Maryann Jacobsen, MS, RD women’s health dietitian at Midlife Strong.

“At midlife, episodes of GERD increase, especially in women,” says Jacobsen. “But it might not be food that causes the GERD. It might be poor gut health. Evidence is mixed on the impact of food types such as spicy or coffee on GERD, but people should avoid eating past being full, high-fat meals, and consuming excess alcohol. Surprisingly, sleep can decrease GERD – so get over seven hours of sleep and avoid eating three hours before bed. Emerging research shows diaphragmatic breathing exercises can also help.”

Jacobsen also suggests that certain types of vegetables may help bolster the lining of the stomach which can help decrease the risk of stomach issues. Eating at least two nitrate-rich vegetables daily can also help. These vegetables include leafy greens, celery, carrots, broccoli, cabbage and beets.