Known as the second brain, your gut has influence over your emotions and physical health. Housed within the enteric system that controls the digestive system, the gut works in tandem with the central nervous system that controls the brain and spine. Both systems directly impact a person’s cognitive abilities — thinking, memory — and physical attributes like the ability to sweat and breathe, blood pressure regulation, and the immune system. Information traded between the central and enteric systems is crucial to emotional health, bowel issues, heart disease, diabetes, and mental health.
Connected to the brain by the vagus and pelvic nerves and the sympathetic nervous system, the gut is formed by two thin layers of more than 100 million nerve cells lining your gastrointestinal tract from esophagus to rectum, per Johns Hopkins Medicine. The presence of so many nerves explain the sensation of butterflies when you feel nervous or those sudden hunger pangs you get at the sight of a juicy burger, even when you’re not necessarily thinking about food or eating. These feelings, which actually start in the gut and then travel to the brain, may feel simultaneous, when in reality they are working independently.
So how exactly does your gut health impact the rest of your bod? And what can you to improve your gut health — and your overall health? We did the research and talked to the experts to find out.
Within the enteric system, the vagus nerve wears many hats and makes up a big part of your gut-brain connection. As the longest nerve in the body, it regulates mood, responds to stress, controls heart rate, and supports the brain. Activity by the vagus nerve is also key to alleviating the onset of chronic diseases brought on by inflammation. As far back as 1997, the Food and Drug Administration approved vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), the implantation of electrical devices that stimulate the vagus nerve, to treat epilepsy. In 2005, vagus nerve stimulation expanded to relieve depressive symptoms that did not respond to traditional treatments, like cognitive behavioral therapy or medications. This new field of science is known as bioelectronic medicine and scientists are considering using this form of intervention — with its direct connection to the gut — to combat migraines, obesity, sleep disorders, and many other diseases.
When it comes to cognition, mental, and physical health, researchers at Johns Hopkins believe that bloating, stomachaches, and other gastrointestinal stressors trigger mood swings. Those who suffer from inflammatory bowel diseases like Irritable Bowel Syndrome or ulcerative colitis know firsthand how physical discomfort impacts quality of life, leading to greater risks for anxiety and depression. Inflammation also interrupts the release of dopamine, produced in the brain, and serotonin, produced in the brain, blood platelets and the gut. The disruption of these neurotransmitters inhibits the body’s ability to regulate mood and energy levels.
Anxiety, depression, or stress can be both the cause and effect of gut health issues, due to the interconnectedness between the mind and gut. Until researchers determine which comes first, exercise, changes to diet, supplements and possibly bioelectronic medicine can inhibit the leaking of harmful bacteria into the bloodstream that leads to inflammation by altering the gut biome and changing a person’s metabolism.
An imbalance in gut biome is also linked to obesity, which can be caused by genetic, environmental and nongenetic factors such as poverty. Since research has shown that the gut regulates obesity by regulating energy absorption, central appetite, fat storage, chronic inflammation, and circadian rhythms, people may try adding prebiotics and probiotics and increase fiber, in conjunction with other interventions, to control obesity and promote the growth of healthy bacteria.
When circadian rhythms are out of sync, obesity may occur because hunger cues become unreliable, and changes in mood and disrupted sleep patterns lead to rising levels of cortisol and poor digestion. Lack of sleep also impacts healthy food choices, reduces the amount of melatonin needed to help us sleep, and potentially causes GERD. Reaching for processed food as an easy meal choice when you’re tired, but that can negatively impact your gut health, resulting in inflammation, skin issues, obesity and emotional dysregulation.
In addition to inflammation being controlled by gut health, there is a direct correlation between healthy skin and your gut biome. Skin is human body’s largest organ and the first line of defense against bacteria and changes in temperature. When the gut biome is off, the body may respond with dandruff, dermatitis, psoriasis, acne, and other skin maladies. Adding fermented foods like kombucha, sauerkraut and kimchi may improve skin health and aide digestion.
Charlie “Coach Charlie” Jordan Brookins, Certified Personal Fitness Trainer and Founder of Fit Thru Faith, suggests several ways to improve gut health by eating an anti-inflammatory diet. He recommends focusing on eating more whole, unprocessed foods. “There is research around aiming for 30 different plant sources in a week to diversify gut microbiomes,” Coach Charlie explains. “Eating fatty fishes like salmon, mackerel, anchovies, sardines and herring, which contain omega-3s are good for brain health, along with nuts and seeds, herbs and spices.” For breakfast, you can reach for berries, cinnamon, flax, or sunflower seeds, adding them to your oatmeal or yogurt to pack in your plant sources.
According to Coach Charlie, keeping the gut microbiome happy is essential to overall good physical and emotional health and there is a fun way to do it: “Look at the food you love and think of a rainbow. Which green foods do you love? Broccoli, spinach or Bok choy. Make a list. Which red foods do you love? Tomatoes, pomegranates or red peppers. Make a list. Do this for all colors of the rainbow and before you know it, you’ve identified at least 30 options that can be eaten throughout the day each week.”
Switching up how you prepare your food is another way to sustain an anti-inflammatory diet while adding in some variety. Instead of air frying vegetables, for example, try a stir fry or change the type of nuts or meat suggested in a recipe for flavor and diversity.
Having regular bowel movements to avoid constipation is another way a strong gut keeps inflammation at bay. With over three decades of experience, registered dietician and nutritionist Sheri Weitz of Move to Wellness says, “60 percent of people I see have a gut issue. Sometimes I identify it. For instance, they thought having a bowel movement every three days was normal. It isn’t. Animals go every day and so should people to get waste products out of the body; otherwise, it’s a rotting trash can.”
Though the needs of individuals vary, she sees many clients for issues related to constipation, bloating and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). According to Weitz, who is also a Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist (CDCES), “some people eat too fast. They don’t chew their food well, which leads to gas, bloating and constipation. Food should be chewed 25 times to slow the digestive process down for proper nutrient absorption and digestion.”
Harmony between the first and second brain is achievable and can start with something as simple as breathing and eating healthy. Calm, focused, deep or meditative, breathing coupled with a diverse diet, stress management, and proper sleep increases vagus nerve activity and promotes positive changes in the brain and gut for whole-body health.
This article was originally published on sheknows.com.
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