Its long been known that your mood can affect your gut. Get nervous and your stomach starts churning for example. However, its becoming increasingly clear that the traffic flow along the Vagus Nerve is a two way street.
The gut holds approximately 2 kg of bacteria. This bacteria forms a symbiotic relationship with us, helping to digest the food we ingest. If this bacteria gets out of balance, or we eat too much of a food that is toxic to it the ecosystem crashes. It is believed that this is the reason behind Irritable Bowel Syndrome among other ailments. Its also been shown to be connected to low mood, the cardiovascular system and metabolic health.
Of the 400 species so far identified, the majority live in the lower bowel with a fewer number in the upper bowel and stomach. They are responsible for fibre digestion and can synthesise certain vitamins such as Folate and Biotin and help to absorb Vitamin K. Without a healthy gut we could not function for very long.
The Bath Tub Analogy
Imagine your body is a bath tub. The tap is the toxins entering your body. The drain is your liver and kidneys processing these toxins. Under normal conditions the flow in and out is balanced and there are no problems.
When we increase the flow the drain struggles to clear and eventually the bath will over flow.
So, how do these symptoms manifest? Below is a slide detailing some of the ways in which a high level of toxins can affect the human body.
What can we do to address these issues? Well, firstly be mindful what you are putting in your body in the first place. We did not evolve to eat a lot of processed foods. Secondly we can look after the bacteria that share our body.
Probiotic and Prebiotic, what is the difference.
Prebiotic, literally before life, are the nutrients that the healthy bacteria need to flourish. Probiotics contain the living bacteria. I would seem to make sense to take both together in what is called Synbiotics.
So there you have it. With out a healthy gut we run into all sorts of problems. For the small cost of eating clean and feeding the gut we can avoid all these issues and live a healthy, happy life.
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