How Are the Gut and Brain Connected?
Not everyone knows about gut and brain connection, but our gut and brain are both connected and problems that arise with one is likely to affect the other. The symptoms that this often leads to are common problems that people may not realize have simple solutions. But just how are the gut and brain both connected with each other?
The brain and brain stem are both connected to the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is what supplies the heart, upper digestive tract, lungs and abdomen and therefore extends into your gastrointestinal system. The exact same nerve tissue that is within your brain is also within your gut. A whopping 90% of your brains activity is via the vagus nerve.
What Does This Connection Mean?
This brain and gut connection means a great deal in terms of symptoms you can experience when problems arise with one or the other. In short, health problems that arise with the brain will ultimately affect the gut and its function and vice versa. Your mind and body connection is a powerful thing and simple factors like stress can cause additional problems.
Your gut and brain connection is parasympathetic which is the nervous system that balances the nerves that arise from the brain and lower end of spinal cord. This supplies the internal organs, glands and blood vessels. This doesn’t react well when under stress which then decreases blood flow. Therefore, stress toxins create an effect on the brain and its function.
Up to around 50%-90% of all chronic gut problems originate in people who have additional psychiatric disorders. Similarly, if you have a gut problem then this can affect brain function. This typically occurs when there is some gut inflammation which then decreases the neuron function. Generally, most people are living with some form of gut inflammation daily, without knowing. A common symptom of this is known as brain fog. Brain fog comes from neural inflammation which is often linked back to gut inflammation itself.
There are other symptoms that arise with this gut and brain connection. Not only will brain fog occur but also: decreased brain function, difficulty enjoying things, motivation, cold hands and feet, poor memory, anxiety and much more. As this connection works both ways, a brain dysfunction can also end up creating a problem with the digestive system. For example, (IBS) Irritable Bowel Syndrome can be a result of decreased neural functioning.
What You Can Do
As the symptoms are so varied, so are the types of treatment available. A good thing to be aware of are supplements that can restore your mind and body balance within the gut and brain connection. Depending on what symptoms you are feeling, you may be able to find a supplement suitable.
Keeping active is also a great way to keep your whole body healthy and functioning as it should. Movement activates the neurological system and as the brain and gut are connected, an active lifestyle can have positive effects on your whole-body health. Living a sedentary lifestyle can affect much more than just your physical health.
If your symptoms originate within the gut and gut difficulties, then a whole-body detox could be the best step forward for ridding of those pesky symptoms that are getting you down and decreasing your health. A whole-body detox can bring back optimum function of your gut by removing all toxins and waste. The toxins that we consume within our diets can cause major health problems as well as inflammation, diabetes, heart disease and much more. Why not try one of our detoxification programs? They have been designed to specifically deal with these types of problems. You can discover further information on our detox programs and how you can benefit from them within our services.
Lastly, a great thing to consider is testing for a gluten intolerance. Many people cannot eat gluten and have no idea. They are having symptoms of brain fog, memory problems and more without knowing what is causing it and therefore how to treat it. Even if you are not intolerant of gluten, by ridding it within your diet it can have great positive effects on your brain and whole-body health. Many people who give up gluten claim that they have much more energy and can think a lot more clearly.
