So, having gone through some recent gut experiences, I found out the the gut is a full fledged brain! Here's a few interesting facts that I found out.
1. Have you ever noticed how similar the gut and the brain look? Looped, spongy, intricate coils of flesh? Have you ever wondered why shock or stress can affect your stomach, so instantaneously?
2. There is a very intimate connection between your gut and your brain starting all the way back to when you were just a few cells in the womb. The nervous system is the very first system to develop in the body and it actually hardwires itself into your gut through what is known as the enteric nervous system (ENT). The gut is connected to the emotional limbic system in our brains. The gut and the brain actually speak to each other.
3. Our brain and gut are connected by an extensive network of neurons and a highway of chemicals and hormones that constantly provide feedback.This information superhighway is called the brain-gut axis and it provides constant updates on the state of affairs.
4. The concept that the gut and the brain are closely connected, and that this interaction plays an important part not only in gastrointestinal function, but also in certain feelings and moods.
5. The gut and the brain are clearly so closely connected, that this interaction plays an important part, not only our gastrointestinal function, but on our every day actions and reactions, in association with the amygdala in our brains. It is so integrated into us as primal human beings, it is deeply rooted within our everyday language; "Gut instincts" "Go with your gut", "Gut Feeling"
6. There has now been major scientific breakthrough in understanding the interaction of our nervous system with our digestive system based on its size, complexity and similarity. Recent neurobiological insights into this gut–brain crosstalk have revealed a complex, bidirectional communication system.
7. Together the gut and the brain make decisions. There is both a top-down modulation of gastrointestinal function by stress and emotions, and the bottom-up signalling from visceral afferents to the brain in abdominal pain syndromes, as well as possible 'emotion regulation'. There is now a wealth or research exploring digestive system's ability to exert control over emotion and mood.
8. The brain in the stomach actually thinks for itself as well as optimising whatever it digests to power our energy-munching head brains. So, your gut being the largest contact with your environment is an actual brain!
9. Covering up to 30km, the gut is the biggest mass of organ in the human body. This huge mass has now been proven to hugely influence our thought, our human consciousness and our mood. The hormone serotonin (our natural happy drug) is first created here before getting transmitted to our brains.
10. The connection between your gut and mental health appears to be so strong that some scientists have proposed that probiotics may one day take the place of antidepressant drugs. According to an article published in the June 2013 issue of Biological Psychiatry, the authors suggest that even severe and chronic mental health problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder, might be eliminated through the use of certain probiotics.
Scientists are beginning to realise that the gut is in fact our secondary brain. The brain in our heads is not longer the solo the king of the bodies castle.
You can watch more about the brain here:
