Your second brain. Inside the walls of your gut resides your centeric nervous system (ENS), consisting of two thin layers of more than 100 million nerve cells—neurotransmitters that speak the same language as your brain, and do in fact communicate with your brain. Your ENS directly controls your gastrointestinal system, and can continue operating even without a connection to your brain and spinal cord. It plays a major role in functions throughout your body. 4 Interestingly, your ENS responds to emotions the same way your brain does—which is why you might feel “butterflies in your stomach” when you’re nervous, why stress may give you heartburn, or why hearing bad news might feel like a “gut punch.” 5 No wonder the gut is
[ Buddying up with your brain. ] It’s a well-known fact that microorganisms in your gut produce many chemicals that are vital to your body’s proper function. Now, however, researchers are discovering that some of those chemicals are the same ones that neurons—the message transmitters we associate with our brain—use to communicate and regulate mood: dopamine, serotonin, and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). 6 One big implication is that in the future, therapy for mental health and mood issues may involve changing the composition of the gut microbiome. Right now, with research only beginning, that type of therapy is still just hopeful speculation. But with every new study, that connection between gut and brain is becoming better understood. For example, a series of studies focused on the gut uncovered how the gut actually communicates with the brain. Researchers found that bacterial metabolites, the by- products of fibre digestion in the gut, can trigger serotonin production. That serotonin activates the vagus nerve, the big nerve that runs from your gut to your brain, and allows the gut to talk to the brain. 7 [ The happiness connection. ] Here’s another surprising fact: the bacteria in your gut are responsible for the production of more than 90 percent of your serotonin supply! No wonder scientists think changes in your gut may actually affect your mood. Serotonin is thought to play a key role in mood balance, and low levels of serotonin are associated with depression. 1 Furthermore, gut problems like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are often accompanied by big emotional shifts. Researchers and doctors once thought anxiety and depression triggered these gut problems. However, as Jay Pasricha, MD, director of the Johns Hopkins Centre for Neurogastroenterology, notes, it may be the other way around. The gut, when it’s not functioning correctly, may actually be triggering the anxiety and depression. 5 A study conducted on mice backs this up. This study concluded that introducing good strains of Lactobacillus bacteria into the gut actually lowered anxiety in the mice. Study authors suggested that having certain “good” microorganisms in the gut may positively impact stress-related disorders like anxiety and depression. 8 Again, therapy via the gut for mental and mood disorders may be many years away still. But simply knowing that your gut microbiome is such an influential part of your body can be valuable—and knowing more about how healthy eating and good nutrition actually affect your wellness and vitality could be life-changing.
known as your “second brain.”
16 JULY 2018 | MELALEUCA.COM 16 JULY 2018 | MELALEUCA.COM
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