It was long believed the digestive system was a part of the autonomic nervous system, the part of the nervous system responsible for controlling bodily functions not consciously directed, such as the respiratory system; breathing, heartbeat, etc.
Modern research now believes the enteric nervous system (ENS), which governs the function of the gastrointestinal system, is capable of acting autonomously. This has led to the gut being described as the second brain.
There are other ways in which the gut could be thought of as a second brain: that “gut feeling” we get about something and that stomach churning sensation we feel in times of anxiety.
The ENS is two thin layers of more than 100 million nerve cells lining your gastrointestinal tract from oesophagus to rectum. It communicates back and forth with our brain, sometimes with profound results.
For example, in a study involving mice, one group of weaker mice were housed with a group of dominant mice who bullied them to the point where the weaker group became withdrawn and depressed.
When exposed to a variety of foods, the depressed mice chose the high fat, high carb “comfort” foods. The reverse is also true: serotonin and dopamine, the “feel good” hormones, are produced in the gut, the increase of which cause a cheerful, positive mind set.
Disturbances in gut health have been linked to multiple sclerosis, autistic spectrum disorders and Parkinson’s, thought to be related to inflammation due to an imbalance of gut bacteria.
As we get older, our bodily functions don’t operate quite so well and the changes in our digestive systems have even been linked to Alzheimer’s. So, the gut may control what’s going on in the mind rather than simply the other way around.
Another interesting fact is that the signal most of us get around 20 minutes into a meal that we are full comes from the gut rather than the brain.
You may recognise that feeling of being overly full when you have eaten in a hurry or that feeling of being satisfied following the starter when your body has had time to “digest” how much you have eaten. It is believed in some cases of obesity that the signal is weak and this could help gastric bypass surgery in the future.
The benefits of a healthy digestive system, then, are clear, just as stress management is vital in maintaining both physical and mental harmony. The need for a healthy diet and balanced exercise, together with meditation and a good dose of what makes you happy, cannot be ignored.
Meditation and exercise are definitely part of the modern way to treat depression, in some cases replacing medication and certainly in the long-term, negating the requirement for drugs. Based on the above, a balanced diet which controls weight and balances the gut flora will have positive benefits for our mental health.
Last week I suggested some postures to help maintain the health of the internal organs: add these to an improvement in eating habits and some deep breathing/relaxation and you will soon enjoy an improvement in wellbeing.
