The Second Brain
Have you ever wondered why you feel sick when you're nervous? Or get butterflies in the stomach when you're excited? Scientists are now discovering that there is a strong connection between the gut and the brain and many are now referring to the enteric nervous system, which controls your digestive tract, as 'the second brain'.
Your brain and your gut both develop in the foetus from the same tissue, called the neural crest. During foetal development, the neural crest divides to form the brain and the digestive system. These are connected by the vagus nerve.
The enteric nervous system (ENS) manages the esophagus, stomach, small intestine and colon independently of the brain. Its responsibilities are many and varied, from pushing the food through your intestines by muscular contractions, to the production of enzymes to digest the food, to the absorption of nutrients into the bloodstream, to protecting you from harmful substances and bacteria that you may have ingested with your food.
The ENS is in total control of your digestion from the moment you swallow the food to the moment when the waste is waiting to be expellled from your body. It also protects the body against harmful bacteria and toxins that may enter with food.
The central nervous system (your brain and spinal cord) and ENS are very similar in structure. In fact, nearly every brain chemical that has been identified in the brain is also found in the ENS! And often in greater quantities - over 80% of the body's serotonin (the neurotransmitter that is involved in feeling happy or depressed) is found in the ENS. This is the reason why people on drugs like Prozac for depression can experience gastro-intestinal problems as their medication affects the levels of serotonin in their gut, often causing diarrhoea or constipation.
Not only do the brain and gut have the same neurotransmitters, they also both have natural 90-minute cycles during sleep. Most of us know that we have periods of deep sleep and periods of rapid eye movement sleep. But did you know that, when you're asleep, your gut also has cycles of rapid and slow muscle contractions?
Often people who suffer from conditions like irritable bowel syndrome or non-ulcerative dyspepsia suffer from poor sleep patterns. Even when they feel as though they have had a good sleep, they still awaken feeling tired and find it hard to get going in the mornings.
Food allergies or sensitivities also seem to affect how people feel. I have had personal experience with this as one of my sons has food intolerances. When he was a child, I could tell when he had eaten something he wasn't supposed to simply by his mood and behaviour. For example, too much cheese would give him night terrors.
It even seems that having the right balance of gut bacteria and flora (those micro-organisms that aid our digestion) may influence the way we feel. Common medications such as antibiotics kill off much of the good bacteria in our gut as well as the bacteria that we want to kill. Although not generally cited as a side-effect of antibiotics, many people report mood swings and depression when taking such medication. Just google 'antibiotics moods' to find a number of forums and articles where this topic is discussed.
I help people change the way they think and the methods I use work quickly and effectively but sometimes it is obvious that there is something else interfering with the work we are doing. When this happpens, I often refer clients to a nutritionist who understands the brain-gut connection and who can help identify and correct problems in the client's diet.
I can highly recommend Fiona Kane, from Informed Health in Penrith, who is a fountain of knowledge on this topic. I have had the privilege of being a co-presenter with Fiona in weight-loss workshops and have greatly benefited from her knowledge.
Every day, new discoveries are being made about how our bodies and minds work. For too long, western medicine has ignored the body-mind connection but now we are realising that we can't just treat one aspect of our being and totally ignore the other.
I often use the analogy of a computer when explaining the work that I do. Your body is the hardware and your mind is the software. Both are necessary components - one can't function without the other! But if you want to get the best performance out of your system, then you need to ensure that BOTH are working at their peak abilities.
References:
The Second Brain, Harper Collins, New York, N.Y. by Gershon, M.D. (1998).
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