YOU HAVE A BRAIN – In Your GUT
This secondary brain in your alimentary canal can have a powerful effect on your mood, behavior, health…
You have two brains - one in your head, and one in your gastro-intestinal system.
What Does This Mean?
This could lead to a great understanding, and thus, resolution of eating disorders, obesity, addictions, illnesses. It seems your Gut Brain may control you as much as your Head Brain….
Scientists Are Discovering That We Have At Least Two “Brains”
If so, this can explain many mysterious things regarding our food issues, gut responses, our health and our thinking processes.
According to the latest research by Dr. Michael Gershon, a professor of anatomy and cell biology at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York, supported by Dr. David Wingate, a professor of gastrointestinal science at the University of London and a consultant at Royal London Hospital, we have an “enteric nervous system” which functions like a primal little “brain,” is located within the sheaths of tissue that line our esophagus, stomach, small intestine and colon.
This nervous system is what may contribute to our “gut feelings.” : )
How Does This Gut Brain System Work?
There are the same “think” chemicals in our gut as our in our brain. These are neurotransmitters such as serotonin, norepinephrine, glutamate, dopamine, nitric oxide, as well as over 20 brain proteins called neuropeptides which help comprise a gut “immune system.”
These chemicals may act similarly to the same chemicals within the brain.
Our guts also contain a myriad of other brain chemicals such as natural opiates and benzodiazepines. These are mood chemicals, right in our digestive system.
All of the chemicals work together to create a secondary and separate little “command center” within our alimentary canal.
Emotions and the Gut
Did you know that when you are stimulated by such emotions such as fear, fight or flight, or even joy, that your secondary “Gut Brain” may react with it’s own “thought” processes? This can explain why people may have “butterflies” in their tums, or even why they may have instantaneous bowel responses, or other strange reactions.
Your “Tummy Brain” Can Talk To Your Head Brain
How does the gut brain communicate with the conscious brain? The gut can send messages such as pain, bloating, nausea. Through these separate feelings, we pay attention to our innards.
It may be that our Gut Brain may even develop automimmune responses that result in Krohn’s disease and various types of colitis and ulcers.
Perhaps it is true that our digestive system can “talk” to us. It certainly tells us we’re hungry with rumblings. And it can seems to jump around in our bellies when we are upset or stressed. And if our digestive system is in turmoil, it can affect our feelings of emotional well-being. Eat poorly, feel badly.
Can the Gut Brain Harbor Emotions and Feelings?
This is hard to say. But an interesting fact is that we may be able to “train” our tummy brains. How is this? Evidently, with regularity, this secondary brain can “learn” to expect certain things. Thus, when you change an regular schedule, the gut may seem to grumble, even rebel.
It’s as if the Gut Brain can develop “expectations.” It can expect meals at certain times, or bathroom times. Perhaps it may get used to certain foods and beverages and give one temporary indigestion when someone changes their diet.
There’s a lot to learn about our other brain.
Eating Disorders, Obesity and Our Secondary Gut Brains
Is there any relationship between our eating habits and food issues and our Gut Brains? Could it be that our gut tells us we must eat something, or that it’s used to overeating and sends messages for more?
This is not proven. But, it may be interesting and helpful to “retrain” the gut brain by changing habits. This may not be easy to do, but it may be a great secret to greater health.
We have definitely noticed that sometimes, ignoring our gut brain and using our head brain by refusing to eat junk foods can gradually grow easier and easier.
Perhaps there’s a great and wonderful way for these two “brains” to work together for our greatest, and most healthful and happy benefit. There seems to be an ancient body wisdom within the depths of our most primal cells.
Uniting in happy concert, our conscious, thinking selves and our body wisdom selves is the trick. We can choose to put into our bodies the most healthful and beneficial foods and to treat it with great love and care. No doubt the body tries to help us “stay the course” by giving us signals. It is in our best interest to listen, best we can.
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Source Information
Book, Amazon.comThe Second Brain: A Groundbreaking New Understanding of Nervous Disorders of the Stomach and Intestine [Paperback] Michael Gershon (Author)
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More Notes and Important Points
Scientists were shocked to discover that “90 percent of the fibers in the primary visceral nerve, the vagus, carry information from the gut to the brain and not the other way around.” The secondary Gut Brain sends more information to the brain than the brain to the gut.
One day, perhaps there will be well-known connections between diseases and lesions in the gut’s nervous system as some in the brain and spinal cord today indicate multiple sclerosis.
Our enteric nervous system (Gut Brain) may mediate our body’s immunes system. At least 70% of all immune response is directed at our gut to respond to and expel foreign invaders.
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