Some Scientists Are Calling This The Second Brain. It’s Very Important To Keep It Healthy
Have you ever had “butterflies” in your stomach or a “gut wrenching” experience? You know, that type of feeling that you get in your stomach when you are nervous or excited about something? As it turns out there is a scientific explanation as to why, the gastrointestinal tract is sensitive to emotion. Anxiety, anger, sadness, excitement can all trigger physical symptoms in the gut.
There is a network of neurons that line our guts; it is so extensive that some scientists have even nicknamed it our “second brain.” As it turns out, our gut does a whole lot more than handle digestion and cause feelings of nervousness, in connection with our brain; the gut partly determines our mental well-being and plays a key role in the development of diseases throughout the body. In turn, it has been concluded that a healthy gut helps in maintaining good mental and emotional health –what you are eating directly affects your mental and emotional state.
The gut and the brain both develop from the same tissues, one section evolves into your central nervous system –your brain and the other into your enteric nervous system –your gut.
The Vagus Nerve connects these two nervous systems. Some of the same hormones and neurotransmitters that control the brain are also found in the gut! The enteric nervous system (ENS) helps you to sense environmental threats and then directly influences your response. Dr. Michael Gershon author of “The Second Brain and chairman of the department of anatomy and cell biology at Columbia University says: “A lot of the information that the gut sends to the brain affects well-being and doesn’t even come to consciousness.” A study conducted by researchers at the University of Los Angeles found that probiotics (beneficial bacteria) actually altered the brain function of the participants.
The study was conducted on 36 women between the ages of 18 and 55, they were divided into 3 groups: After the 4 weeks the women were examined and it was found that the women in the probiotic yogurt group had a more stable emotional response when exposed to a stressful situation. “By changing the environment in the gut, we can actually change what happens in the brain.” Noted Kirsten Tillisch, the head of the research team for the study. She also stated “Time and time again, we hear from patients that they never felt depressed or anxious until they started experiencing problems with their gut. Our study shows that the gut–brain connection is a two-way street... ‘When we consider the implications of this work, the old sayings ‘you are what you eat’ and ‘gut feelings’ take on new meaning.'” To keep your second brain and your... first brain at optimal health you want to ensure to nurture your gut, by eating a healthy diet rich in probiotics. Yogurt can be a source of probitotics, but there is an increasing amount of evidence to support the claim that dairy is not very beneficial to your health. Read about that here.
There are some alternative dairy free probiotic options for you to consider adding to your diet: You can find a recipe for all 3 of the aforementioned here. Your brain is going to thank you! Much Love Sources http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evolutionary-psychiatry/201404/the-gut-brain-connection-mental-illness-and-disease http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/the-gut-brain-connection http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/gut-second-brain/ http://neurosciencestuff.tumblr.com/post/38271759345/gut-instincts-the-secrets-of-your-second-brain http://www.bbc.com/news/health-18779997 .
Read the full article at the original website
References:
- http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evolutionary-psychiatry/201404/the-gut-brain-connection-mental-illness-and-disease
- http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/the-gut-brain-connection
- http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/gut-second-brain/
- http://neurosciencestuff.tumblr.com/post/38271759345/gut-instincts-the-secrets-of-your-second-brain
- http://www.bbc.com/news/health-18779997