The Gut Brain Connection

Do you know that your gut makes as many neurotransmitters as your brain? Neurotransmitters allow our internally made chemical and electrical signals to transmit messages from one neuron (brain cell) to another ‘target’ neuron. Having a healthy bowel will support good health but having a toxic bowel can wreak havoc throughout our entire body, including our brain.

Scientists have long known that the enteric nervous system (ENS) found within the gut is connected to the brain via the vagus nerve and is so influential that the gut is often referred to as the “second brain.” When we experience sadness, fear, or another emotional state, the gut is affected. The reverse is also true. When imbalances within the gut are present, such as inflammation or an infection, our emotional state suffers as well.

There is a strong connection between the makeup of our gut flora and the functioning of the immune, nervous, and endocrine (hormonal) systems and, of course, our brain, which effects mood, desires, and memory.

In our practice, we often find that gut inflammation, caused by dysbiosis or chronic parasitic infection, induces anxiety, restlessness, and sugar cravings in children and adults.

There are so many bacteria living within our digestive tracts that they outnumber our own cells nearly a hundredfold. This is what we call our internal ecosystem or biofilm. Within this ecosystem, different species have different needs and rise and fall in relative abundance depending on the nature of their environment. Just as we must be certain that our garden has the correct balance and pH of the soil and the correct amount of water and sunlight to produce a healthy crop, we must ensure that our internal environment is in balance to create a healthy ecosystem or biofilm. Our bowel flora or biofilm is our first line of defence. These are the good guys that take action as soon as something enters our internal environment that is a threat to us.

Our diet has a huge impact on bacterial populations in the gut. Some of these bacteria are beneficial and some are not. Some gut bacteria prefer to consume fat, while others prefer sugar. One of the yeast species known as Candida requires glucose and other sugars as food from the digestion of carbohydrates. In people with a healthy gut, ecosystem dietary glucose gets converted into lactic acid, water, and energy through a biochemical process called glycolysis. In people with a yeast overgrowth, Candida highjacks the glucose and digests it in a different way, called alcoholic fermentation. In this biochemical process Candida and other yeasts convert dietary glucose into alcohol (ethanol) and its by-product acetaldehyde. This phenomenon was first described in adults who appeared to be drunk without consuming any alcohol. Later it was found that these adults had an overgrowth of yeast in the gut, creating their own alcohol production.

Does bacteria give us cravings?

Gut bacteria can manipulate what we eat for their own benefit. Microbes have the capacity to manipulate behaviour and mood, by altering the neural signals in the vagus nerve, changing taste receptors, producing toxins to make us feel bad, and releasing chemical rewards to make us feel good. That, in turn, would mean manipulating our behaviour by means of food cravings, food aversions, or feelings of distress that are only satisfied by eating certain foods. So it may not actually be you that is driving to the donut shop!

The power of dietary changes

Even if bacteria affect our behaviour, we can change the bacteria. What we eat greatly determines what type of bacteria live in our gut. The digestive systems of people living in Japan, for example, contain specialized bacteria that aid in the digestion of seaweed.  In fact, studies have shown that we can change the composition of our gut flora, positively or negatively, within as little as 24 hours after changing our diet. Make sure your diet includes plenty of organic fruits and vegetables, as pesticides and herbicides weaken the plants and are very toxic. Eat free range/pasture fed chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, and wild game. The antibiotics that are mixed in with commercially raised animals will negatively alter your healthy gut flora, plus they are fed a diet very high in grains, which create more saturated fats.  Always choose wild caught fish rather than farmed fish. Farmed fish are fed antibiotics and artificial food. Fish is known as “brain food” because of the essential fatty acids they contain from eating plants and algae, but this is not available for farmed fish.  The healthier the food is that we consume, the healthier the gut biofilm will be. 

One evening, an elderly

Cherokee brave told his

Grandson about a battle

That goes on inside people.

He said “my son, the battle is

Between two ‘wolves’ inside us all.

One is evil. It is anger,

Envy, jealousy, sorrow,

Regret, greed, arrogance,

Self-pity, guilt, resentment,

Inferiority, lies, false pride,

Superiority, and ego.

The other is good.

It is joy, peace love, hope, serenity,

Humility, kindness, benevolence,

Empathy, generosity,

Truth, compassion, and faith.”

The grandson thought about

It for a minute and then asked

His grandfather:

“which wolf wins?…”

The old Cherokee simply replied,

“the one that you feed”