These are notes I have taken from sources about topics that interest me, and/or that have tremendously helped me along This Beautiful Journey called LIFE!!! … Many people ask me about all these things, and I decided to create a section where I post all this information. Hope you will also find it interesting and helpful… Please scroll down and click on the reference(s) for the complete information on this topic.
Mental Health… Behavior… Mood… Who Is In Charge?
We Think It Is Our Brain, But Our Gut May Be The One
Our Beliefs Through History
1800s and early 1900s
- belief: wastes in our colon⇒ produce infections⇒ depression and psychosis
- mental health patients-treated with colonic purges and bowel surgeries
- eventually this was regarded as quackery
Today
- research is showing what was already known long ago
- belief: mental health is dependent on the microbes in our gut
- the huge amount of living organisms in our intestines => major impact on our state of mind
Our Gut Is Intricately Connected to Our Brain
Our Body
- brain-in our head
- enteric nervous system (ENS)-in the wall of our gut
- works independently and in conjunction with the brain
- contains 500 million neurons
- thought to be responsible for your “gut instincts”
- responds to environmental threats
- sends information to our brain=> affects our well-being
Communication Between Our “Two Brains”
- goes both ways
- pathway for how foods affect our mood
- fatty foods make us feel good:
- fatty acids are detected by cell receptors in the lining of our gut=> send warm and fuzzy nerve signals to our brain
The Gut-Brain Connection
- more than comfort food or butterflies in our stomach
- from the research:
- gut-brain axis seems bidirectional
- the brain acts on gastrointestinal and immune functions=>help to shape the gut’s microbial makeup
- the gut microbes make neuroactive compounds (neurotransmitters and metabolites) => act on the brain
- various ways interactions may occur:
- vagus nerve connects the brain and the digestive tract
- microbial compounds communicate via the vagus nerve
- immune system maintains its own communication with the brain
- microbially derived metabolites interact with the immune system
- gut-brain axis seems bidirectional
References
- Mercola, J (2015, November 12). Mental Health May Depend on the Health of Your Gut Flora. Retrieved from: https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/11/12/mental-health-gut-flora.aspx
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