THE AMAZING CONNECTION BETWEEN YOUR STOMACH AND YOUR BRAIN Thinking With Your Gut While it may seem strange to think about, the human stomach is truly a thing of wonder. Most humans only acknowledge its digestive processes, but the gut plays a much more influential role in our day-to-day lives than simply breaking down food for nutrient production; it is closely connected to our emotional states, as well. in the GI tract — becomes significantly altered or imbalanced,
psychological or neurological issues can arise. In response to these emerging findings, dietary approaches and probiotics are being explored to see how well they can modulate a person’s
Think about it. Have you ever felt butterflies before a date, intestinal pain during moments of stress, or nausea before an important presentation? Have you ever told someone to “follow their gut”before making a big decision? These physical symptoms are not a coincidence; they are known in the scientific world as the gut-brain axis . Your gut is connected to the limbic system, the part of the brain that processes emotions. The brain sends messages to all other organs in your body, so it’s not surprising it communicates with your stomach, too. What is surprising, however, is that the connection goes both ways. Just as your brain can relay information to your gut about excitement and anxiety, your gut can have a direct impact on the way you feel.
microbiome and address symptoms. While research is still being conducted to determine the extent of the stomach’s influence over emotional and mental states, plenty of evidence proves the connection is real.
Your stomach “talks”to you all the time, and, if you didn’t have enough reasons to pay attention to the food you eat, now you have one more thing to keep in mind. If you start thinking a bit more with your gut, your health will thank you for it!
According to a recent study published by the National Library of Medicine, when a person’s microbiome — the diverse population of good and bad bacteria living
MICHAEL CROSBY
In a way, I started representing Mike Crosby before I went to law school, and even before finishing college! Actually, I didn’t, but my old boss did, and I got the honor of working on Mike’s claims after I started with the firm nearly a decade later. See, Mike is a guy who keeps on keeping on. He had two injuries (well, probably more that he didn’t report) over his work life, the first back in 1979 while still in his 20s. Back then, he worked as a tree-trimmer. I’ve represented several of these “bulls of the woods” over the years, and this work is more dangerous than I would have thought. Cutting and getting struck by swinging limbs weighing hundreds or thousands of pounds can quickly turn deadly. Mike hurt his back trying to move a limb that had wedged itself against his truck. He felt a “pop” and knew that wasn’t good. Despite herniating three lumbar discs, and with pain radiating down his left leg, Mike returned to work, this time as a truck driver and mechanic. He drove many rigs, from forklifts to semis to heavy dump trucks, none of which are easy with a back injury. He was injured again 16 years later when his tractor-trailer rolled, bouncing him around the cab, fracturing ribs and rupturing his spleen. Still, he returned to work.
After extensive back surgery and significant ongoing treatment, and several years of his doctor (and his loving wife Carol) telling him he needed to stop working as he was making himself crippled, Mike finally listened. Vocational experts concluded retraining wasn’t feasible, and we convinced the Industrial Commission to grant him permanent total disability. Mike is like many of my clients, especially the ones who work with heavy machinery, trucks, or construction. Their injuries might discourage lots of folks to throw in the towel, but these guys just keep going, long after you’d think they could. Mike’s just another of our good people, and we’re proud to know him!
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