We’ve all had a gut feeling about something but did you know that these feelings are based on a scientific connection between our gut and our brain?
You have a lot of gut feelings. You don't always know they're coming or why they happen, but you just feel like something is up. When this happens, you might want to listen to that little voice in your head more closely. It's not just a coincidence—there's actually an entire body science behind the connection between your gut and brain!
The gut has its own nervous system, which means it can send signals to other parts of the body without using our central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord). How? The vagus nerve! This nerve connects all sorts of organs—including your heart, lungs, oesophagus (food pipe), pancreas, gallbladder and liver—to the brainstem at the base of your skull. This allows signals from those organs to reach those regions of your brain where emotions are processed so that when something feels off in any one area it translates into feelings like anxiety or fear even if there isn't anything physically wrong with us at all times."
The practice of using probiotics and prebiotics has been around for thousands of years. They were first used as early as 400 B.C. to treat gastrointestinal ailments.
Probiotics and prebiotics are natural foods that help maintain a healthy gut.
Probiotics are good bacteria that help keep your gut healthy, while prebiotics help probiotics grow. You can find both of these nutrients in foods like bananas, asparagus and garlic.
In the past, we’ve thought that the purpose of the gut was simply to digest food and absorb nutrients. Now, we know that it actually plays an important role in controlling our immune system and neurotransmitters which affect depression and other mood disorders.
The gut is the largest immune organ in the body and plays a role in everything from immunity to mood disorders. In fact, it’s considered the “second brain” because it contains over 100 million neurons that communicate with our brain and central nervous system (CNS), as well as important neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine.
The gut is also responsible for absorbing nutrients from food—it’s where we break down carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals into their individual components before they can be absorbed into our bloodstreams.
This vital process can easily be disrupted by stress since hormones like cortisol increase blood sugar levels which can lead to weight gain around your middle if you don’t exercise regularly or take supplements like curcuminoids from turmeric root powder (the active ingredient in most curries). The good news is that maintaining a healthy diet rich in fiber-rich foods like fruits, vegetables and whole grains helps keep digestion regular so that all those nutrients are absorbed properly!
According to scientists at the University of California at Los Angeles, “Because most of the immune system is actually located within the gut, this could mean that it might be possible to treat diseases like multiple sclerosis or treat patients who have had organ transplants by manipulating bacteria in the gut. This could also mean that what we eat has a huge impact on how we feel.”
Of course, the gut-brain connection is only one way that your eating habits can have an impact on your mental health. What you eat also has a role to play in regulating your mood and energy levels. In fact, there are foods that are specifically designed to improve brain function and reduce stress. For example, probiotics are good bacteria that can help reduce anxiety and depression by reducing inflammation in the gut and increasing serotonin production (serotonin is one of the neurotransmitters responsible for happiness).
Prebiotics are fibers found naturally in some foods like asparagus, garlic, onions and leeks which help boost serotonin levels as well as combat cravings for sugar or carbs by slowing down digestion so blood sugar remains stable longer than it might otherwise be if it wasn’t for prebiotics slowing down digestion rate via fermentation throughout large intestines where most probiotic bacteria live.
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