Just a few weeks ago I attended a day long educational seminar taught by Merrily Kuhn RN,CCRN(r) PHD, ND,PHD. It was a very informative event. I learned a lot and had much of what I already know validated.
We all kind of sort of know that our gut health is very important! After all, when we have a stomach ache or some other abdominal pain, we just feel miserable. We know that diarrhea and constipation are related to our gut health, but did you know that the gut is the source of 90% of our immune system and that the gut and the brain are intricately related to our mental health?
Well known neurotransmitters are made in the gut. Check out Dopamine. 50% of this important neurotransmitter is made in the gut and 50% made in the brain. 95% of Serotonin is produced in the gut. GABA, Glutamate and Norepinephrne are also found in the gut. Now the light comes on and it makes so much sense. When you are nervous, you can get a stomach ache, diarrhea and more. This is personal validation that the gut is definitely influenced by the emotions, so it makes perfect sense that the brain would be influenced by the gut.
At birth, our gut is populated by the needed bacteria while coming through the birth canal. Breast milk contains a substance that the baby cannot process. Why is that? Research has verified that this substance is need by the bacteria to make it healthy. When our gut bacteria is healthy then we are happy and healthy. It is a symbiotic relationship which means that the bacteria and our bodies help each other out.
Many things in our diet and lives is detrimental to our gut bacteria and thus to our health. This is being recognized more and more by healthcare workers all over the country. Environmental toxins, antibiotics and nutrient depleted diets are part of the reasons why our gut bacteria can become unhealthy and candida, which is not so good for our health, can become a big time health problem.
Making sure that you take a probiotic when taking an antibiotic is very important. Just make sure you don't take the antibiotic and probiotic at the same time of day. Wait at least 2 hours between to make sure that the antibiotic does not destroy the probiotics. Eliminate sugar completely from your diet and limit the processed foods as much as possible.
The subject of healthy gut and it's connection with a healthy brain is vast. If this subject interests you I would suggest that you do additional research on the subject as the vast amount of information out there is just too big for the scope of this blog.
To your health and happy research.
Until next time,
Healthbug
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