Is the gut our second brain?
Do you experience the feeling of having butterflies in the stomach on a first date? Or feel cramping before entering a job interview? It isn't just a suggestion. Somethingreally happens in our stomach, there actually is a communication between the brain and the belly. How?
Are the gut and brain linked?
It was Dr. Michael D. Gershon of Columbia University who elaborated the theory of two brains, according to which the intestine is the second brain, where there are over one hundred million neurons, which regulate stress, anxiety, pressure and other feelings.
It seems that a large part of our emotions are under the influence of our gut!
When dealing with emotional states, depression for instance, one should take into account the state of the gut because 95 percent of the body's serotonin is foundin the gut. hence in the belly there's a real second brain, with important functions that are reflected on the wholeorganism that regulates feelings, memories and pleasure. For a long time the intestine was accounted a peripheral structure, assigned to perform marginal functions. The truth is that nutrition affects our thinking and our unconscious mind by as much as 90%.
Intestine as a' spy' of emotions:
According to Dr. Gershon, “ Suffice it to say that the intestine, despite having only a tenth of the neurone in the brain, works autonomously, helps to fix memories related to emotions and has a fundamental role in signalling joy and pain”.
The intestine, in fact, would be capable to reproduce emotions solely, releasing serotonin (the happiness hormone) upon receiving stimuli related to what we ingest. Just think about how we feel better after eating a piece of chocolate, and so in the opposite way ( susceptible to having been fasted), it's able to recognise independently, what can make us sick. Just suppose that if we ingest poisonous or prickly substances, our intestine reacts by throwing them out.
How is it possible to take care of the intestine?
The two- brain theory focuses on the significance of nutrition and bowel care for both physical and cerebralwell- being. Eating right, with genuine and tasty nourishment, helps you feel good about yourself and others. It keeps you fit and happy.
