Did you ever THINK that we have a secondary think tank in our God given bodies? What an amazing, intricate temple that has been hand molded by our amazing creator. The human body is so complex and wonderfully hand crafted that scientists are baffled by new discoveries everyday.
One of those organs is the human brain, which is studied by neuroscientists daily to better understand the complexity of how our brains process and release emotions and chemical messages throughout our entire body. This is truly a remarkable phenomenon of science which scientists continue to embark on new discoveries and research.
Have you ever stopped and thought to yourselves, how a cut stops bleeding on its own? Obviously, the time it takes to stop bleeding depends on the location and severity of the cut, but it eventually will subside. This is utterly amazing and is all orchestrated innately through the brain signaling a threat hence sending various cellular messages to deploy platelet cells to the site of injury to stop bleeding. Organically this just happens without us having to think about it.
Scientists have further discovered that we have a “second brain” in our gut known as the enteric nervous system. We all have heard of the central nervous system, which is found in our brain, but we now know of another region in our bodies that is instrumental in our mental and physical health. The enteric nervous system plays a key role in certain diseases in our bodies and is in close communication with our central brain. These two brains talk to one another and send chemical messages to one another via the Vagus nerve which runs from the base of our skulls directly to our stomach.
This highway of communication is instrumental in helping our bodies maintain a state of homeostasis or balance physically, mentally, and spiritually. This is known and the brain-gut connection and is a feedback loop of communication. Our gut is the largest part of our hormonal and immune systems and is responsible for regulating countless functions in the body.
The latest research has found a link between gut health and mental health. Just like the brain our guts produce serotonin, which is a neurotransmitter that can affect mood and behaviour. Eating a diet, which is comprised of refined foods, trans fats, and sugar overtime wrecks havoc on our gut flora(microbiome) and consequently can lead to depressive episodes and anxiety. Furthermore, our guts produce cortisol, a hormone that impacts stress levels. Chronic stress can lead to inflammation and imbalances in our guts which sends signals to our brain hence triggering mood changes.
It is so important that we take inventory of what we are feeding our brains by what we think and eat to avoid a cascade of potential health issues.