Have you ever “gone with your gut” to inform decision making? Or felt “butterflies in your stomach” when excited or nervous?
Mind-Gut Connection
Have you ever “gone with your gut” to inform decision making? Or felt “butterflies in your stomach” when excited or nervous? These signals may be coming from an unexpected source: your second brain.
Emerging research indicates that our brain and gastrointestinal systems are interconnected and can have a deep effect on our moods, mental health, and overall emotional wellbeing. For example, simply thinking about food or eating can release digestive enzymes in the stomach. The gut-brain connection can link anxiety and depression to digestive problems and vice versa. Symptoms of stress can also often manifest as gastrointestinal problems. While our gut (aka second brain) may not be able to critically think or make executive decisions, it can have a bigger impact on our overall wellness more than we think.
Here are 4 interesting facts about the mind-gut connection by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health:
- Gut microbiota is a bacterial population that lives in your intestines.
- We are all familiar with the brain communicating with the gut however, emerging research suggests that the relationship goes both ways. For example, a 2011 research by Dr. Cryan found that mice who consumed a specific probiotic displayed more relaxed behavior than mice who did not consume the bacteria.
- The gut microbiota may affect behavior, emotion, and even cognition.
- Beginning research shows that altering bacteria in the gut through specific diets may provide a supplementary treatment for stress-related and neurodevelopmental disorders.
Please also check out this video Tedx Talk: Your Gut Microbiome
