The Gut - Brain Connection

WHY IT MATTERS

The food we eat and the thoughts we digest have a profound effect on our physical and mental health.  Chronic diseases and ailments as wide ranging as anxiety, autism, Alzheimer’s, allergies, auto-immune ailments, ADD/ADHD, and depression all have (at least) one thing in common: a disrupted microbiome*.  The inputs you give your body (e.g food, words, thoughts, movement, sleep, etc.) all affect your microbiome and your body’s ability to respond to your environment.  There are things you can’t control about your microbiome (genetics, vaginal vs. cesarean birth, childhood antibiotics, etc.) and things you can control.  Luckily, the things you can control have a huge effect on your microbiome and your health.  Two of the big ones are stress and nutrient intake.  Stress activates the sympathetic nervous system (a.k.a. “fight or flight”) which shuts down digestion.  This means no assimilation of nutrients and no repair of the digestive system (a recipe for disaster).  The nutrients we eat influence just about everything else related to gut and overall health; bacterial diversity, cellular health, tissue formation, organ health, neurotransmitter production, short chain fatty acid production, intestinal mucosa and tight junctions, the list goes on. This is critical because if your microbiome isn’t functionally optimally, you won’t be functioning optimally.  If you want to learn more about the gut-brain connection check out the links and suggested readings on this page.

* The microbiome is the collection of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other microscopic organisms that live in and on the human body.  Humans have 200 times more genes in their microbiome than in their body!  Some of the bacteria, etc. is beneficial.  Some of it is harmful.  Without our microbiome, we would not survive.  Diversity and a healthy balance is what promotes good mental and physical health.