04/06/2021
Most of us are aware that the gut affects our brain-- Thoughts, moods, anxiety, stress... But do you realise just how important the gut-brain connection is?
It's called the gut-brain axis And the gut is physically connected to the brain by the Vagus nerve.
The vagus nerve controls the signals from the brain to different organs in the body and involves hormones & neurotransmitters that transmit those messages between the gut & the brain. Science doesn't fully understand or appreciate the complexity of the vagus nerve yet. Those chemicals are affected by the Gut microbiome which in turn affect our mental health.
When there are imbalances in the gut - from eating processed foods, eating too much white sugar, environmental toxins, toxins from our beauty & cleaning products, prescription & over the counter meds, drinking too much alcohol, & not eating enough whole, living foods, fibre, & fermented foods our microbiome suffers (& So does the rest of our body). 70% or more of our immune system is housed in the gut.
You want to be positive. You want to think good thoughts. You want to be in charge of your mental health. But how much of your physical health is impacting your mental health? A LOT.
Half of the bodies dopamine & about 95% of serotonin are made in the gut. These are our happy hormones. When your gut is unhealthy, so is your mental health. These are only 2 of the critical hormones--our bodies produce hundreds of them & other critical hormones for positive mental health are thyroid, estrogen, progesterone and testosterone.
Now, more than ever, our mental health & our stress levels are critical. Stress causes so much damage & inflammation...
The Vagus nerve is incredibly fascinating by the way! You know that gut feeling you get-- Otherwise known as your intuition? Or when you get butterflies in your tummy? Or maybe you get a stomach ache when you have to give a speech or go to a public event? THAT Is the vagus nerve communicating. The vagus nerve is responsible for our PERCEPTION. Our perception is determined by a lot of things-- Past experiences, old ingrained thought patterns, irrational fears even.
Our perception comes from our sympathetic nervous system and some of the factors that can influence it are stress, inflammation, racing thoughts, gut sensitivities or imbalances, social anxiety.
The Vagus nerve is attuned to 90% receiving information.
There are things you can do to strengthen your Vagus nerve and your thought processes and likewise there are things you can do to strengthen your gut so that the Vagus nerve receives calming, positive information.
When there are imbalances in the gut from eating processed foods, environmental toxins, toxins from beauty and cleaning products, prescription and over the counter meds, drinking too much booze, and not eating enough whole, living foods, fibre, and fermented foods are microbiome suffers and so does the rest of our body and brain. 70% or more of our immune system is housed in the gut!!
No more than ever our mental health - our stress levels are critical!!
Start with small things. Swap out some of your processed food for whole, organic foods -- mostly fruits and veggies. And try a cold shower. It's great for the Vagus nerve!!!
