I’ll bet that you’ve experienced butterflies in your stomach or an unmistakable, strong gut feeling before. So, you’ve pretty much always known that what goes on in your head affects your stomach. But did you know that what goes on in your belly affects your brain too? It works both ways. Science has proven that what happens in your gut dramatically impacts your brain operation and mental health.

Your gut bacteria modify your overall health in many ways. They help build your immune system, influence your weight, and have a part in your risk of certain conditions, like diabetes, obesity, and autoimmune, heart, and colon diseases. They also impact your brain operation, which in turn, determines your mental health and behavior.

Communication from your gut to your brain is accomplished through the vagus nerve, the immune system, and other neurochemical and microbial messengers.

The Brain in Your Gut

In addition to the brain in your head and a second brain in your heart, you have a third brain in your belly called the enteric nervous system (ENS). The ENS consists of a network of some 100 million neurons lining your gut from stomach to anus. That’s more neurons than located in your spinal cord or peripheral nervous system. The ENS can function independently without input from the central nervous system and transmits information to it.

The ENS uses over 30 neurotransmitters, including dopamine and serotonin — just like the brain in your head — and similarly influences your physical body and emotional states. In fact, 95 percent of the body’s serotonin is found in the bowels. Studies have linked the ENS to stress, depression, autism, inflammatory bowel disease, Parkinson’s, and even osteoporosis.

[To read the rest of this article by Debbie Hampton, click here.]

[Image from thebestbrainpossible.com]