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“Every
day we live and every meal we eat we influence the great microbial organ inside
us - for better or for worse.” - Giulia Enders
Heribert
Watzke, a renowned food scientist, suggested in a TED talk that we call
ourselves “coctivors.”
It’s
derived from the word coquere, which means “to cook.”
According
to him, our ability to cook helped the human species evolve as it did. It
allowed us to develop the big brain that we now have, just by using the energy
stored in food.
Furthermore,
this technology helped ancient humans migrate to other lands and thrive
wherever they went.
As
Watzke said, “If you can cook, nothing can happen to you, because whatever you
find, you will try to transform it.”
But
why is this important?
You
see, he also says that these evolutionary factors helped create the connection
between the gut and the brain.
The
gut – which is made
up of the stomach, small intestine and colon – has a lot of
layers. It has muscle, submucosa, and nervous tissue.
And
the total length of the gut is around 40
meters and can cover 400 square meters of surface.
That’s
a lot of real estate to work with.
So,
in nature's infinite wisdom, the gut also houses a
complex network of 500 million nerve cells and 100 million neurons.
This
is why Watzke says that “our gut has a full-fledged brain.”
What does this
second brain do, exactly?
Unlike
the primary brain, the “gut brain” runs on autopilot. It silently directs
a lot of vital functions to keep you alive and healthy.
Once
food matter reaches your gut, complex chemical
processes and muscular functions kick in to initiate the digestive process.
For
instance, this gut-brain of ours knows how much digestive enzymes to release
and the amount of nutrients to absorb from food.
The
gut also “talks” to the big brain by sending specific signals to
it.
For
example, feelings of hunger come from the gut. When your “little brain” senses
that you’re low on food, it will produce hormones like ghrelin to
tell your big brain that you need to eat.
On
the other hand, you’ll also produce another hormone called leptin. This tells
the brain that you’ve consumed enough food, which means you need to stop
eating.
This
is the gut’s way of balancing energy in your body. It's always trying to find
the happy middle ground between feeling hungry and satisfied.
Aside
from that, the gut intuitively knows how to keep out the bad stuff, like toxins, viruses and
bacteria.
If
any undigested food or harmful compounds reached our bloodstream, it could be
potentially fatal for us.
This
is why we have the gut barrier in place. It’s made up of digestive
acids, mucus, a protective cell wall and friendly bacteria. All of them work
together to keep out foreign threats and expel them out of your body.
So,
the gut is a critical player in our health because the majority of the immune
system is
found in this region.
While
the automated brain in our gut isn't capable of conscious, forward-thinking
needed for tasks like driving a car or writing a poem…
…it
does share a vital link with our upper brain.
Scientists
haven’t fully understood the intricacies and full implications of this
connection, but they do know that it impacts our lives in a HUGE way.
The Impact of the
Gut-Brain-Metabolism Connection
People
often use term “gut feeling” - and it turns out that there’s a good
reason for that.
As
you’ve just learned, the gut houses a sophisticated network of nerve cells.
What most people don’t know is that this network is actually connected to our
emotional limbic system and central nervous system.
What
does that mean? Whatever goes happens in our gut has a direct effect on our
emotions and psychological well-being.
For
starters, the gut sends out distress signals when something’s not
quite right down there.
For
instance, a bad case of gas, bloating or other types of
discomfort will prompt the gut-brain to communicate with the big brain in your
head. This can cause drastic shifts in mood and emotional
disposition.
This
is important because we only believed that how we felt affected the rest of our
body, like our gut. So now it seems that it can also go the other way
around.
And
that means if doctors treat the gut first, this will directly influence the big
brain and relieve conditions like anxiety, restlessness –
and even depression.
A
study published in the Indian Journal of Psychiatry called “Understanding nutrition, depression and mental illnesses”
says:
“...nutrition can play
a key role in the onset as well as severity and duration of depression.”
And
that makes perfect sense because most (i.e., 50-90%) of the feel-good brain
chemicals (a.k.a. neurotransmitters) such as serotonin and dopamine are
produced in the gut.
Not
only that, the gut is responsible for manufacturing other neurotransmitters
which affect your sleeping habits, mood
levels
and emotional
stress.
So,
preventing dietary trouble down south is essential to staying happy, focused
and positive in your daily life.
A Word on Stress
Eating
Who
hasn’t felt like digging into a pint of ice cream after a long, tiring day?
It's
a typical response people have when they're faced with emotional distress.
We use food to cover up our feelings, and this isn't healthy in the long run.
For
one thing, the negative emotions you had before binging will still be
there after the fact.
And
the residual guilt of eating "forbidden" foods will influence your
gut brain. This, in turn, messes with your metabolism.
Of
course, mindlessly eating
unhealthy foods as a coping mechanism will cause you to spike
your blood sugar levels and gain
weight.
That much we know.
But
most folks don't realize that filling the emotional void with food also creates
an unfavorable environment for your gut.
Let’s
say you sit down to eat a slice of pizza. As you take a bite, your brain's
pleasure center lights up as an incentive for you to eat the same food next
time.
However,
you’ll also associate that slice of pizza with feelings of guilt and
remorse because you believe that you’re not supposed to
eat it.
So,
your digestive system will “feel” that guilt too, and half-heartedly digest
that pizza.
As
a result, you won’t metabolize food as well, nor utilize its energy as
efficiently.
In
other words, your gut will find a way to translate that emotional
language into a digestive one.
Mind-blowing
stuff, don’t you think?
The
trick then is to be mindful of your emotions before taking that first bite.
For
example, what kind of feelings do you associate that salad with? What are your
motivations for eating it?
Are
you secretly telling yourself, “This is my punishment for being overweight…
...or
are you thinking, “This salad is giving me the antioxidants I need to stay
healthy”?
As
such, the kind of message you communicate to your gut will affect the way it
breaks down your food.
And
I’m not saying that having a positive mindset while eating makes it ok to eat
stuff that’s undeniably unhealthy.
However,
it does help to check your feelings at the table – especially if they involve
self-judgment and self-loathing.
If
your gut is out of whack, even the healthiest food in the world can’t fully
nourish you the way it's meant to.
How to Talk to
Your Gut
Now,
our emotional state is just one way you communicate with your gut.
But
what if you could consciously “talk” to that brain in your gut?
What
if you could send it an overwhelmingly positive message...
...so
your gut can carry that same message to your big brain – and the rest of your
body?
Remember,
your big brain and gut-brain are constantly talking to each other anyway - even
in your sleep.
They're
sending signals back and forth to make sure you're running at full capacity.
Going
back to Watzke’s talk, he said that cooking – and by extension, the food we eat
– is the best way we can consciously communicate with our gut.
With
the language of food, he believes that we can create signals so strong in the
gut that “the big brain cannot ignore it.”
In
short, food won’t just allow you to be a part of this communication process –
but also ENHANCE it.
With
the right
food,
you can create a healthy feedback loop within your body’s ecosystem.
Ultimately,
this will make you happier, give you more energy, free you from disease, and
help you live longer.
How to Keep Your
Gut Healthy and Happy?
While
it’s important to know how the gut impacts your metabolism and general
well-being…
…it’s
just as crucial to be aware of the biggest threats to this delicate
connection.
As
you know, the quality
of your food
plays a HUGE role in this situation.
That’s
why you need to understand how most processed food today messes with your gut.
They
upset
your blood sugar levels and lead you to diseases like cancer and diabetes.
Watch
this video - Keep Your Gut
Healthy: Ben Warren's top 10 tips for a healthy gut
Written
by Dr. Carl Bamlet who is a chiropractor and a certified nutrition specialist.
He creates the Food, Health & You Complete
Implementation System
which is a lifestyle guide primarily focusing on diet and nutrition.
Dr.
Carl Bamlet is a cancer survivor. He was diagnosed with brain cancer at the age
of nineteen, underwent surgeries and chemotherapy, adapted to a lifestyle that
eliminates all processed foods and the various toxins that people routinely get
exposed to due to the modern diet. He has been cancer free for twelve years.
He
is healthy and free from the various common lifestyle diseases. With the help
of this ebook, you can also prevent cancer, autoimmune diseases, irritable
bowel syndrome, metabolic disorders, diabetes, and many other ailments.
This
holistic guide will help you to embark on a lifestyle that is rid of everything
that ails our modern diet. The lifestyle guide does not recommend any
medication or fad diets. There is no expensive proposition or quaint lifestyle
changes. The different plans are easy to follow and they are relevant for
people of all ages and ethnicities, regardless of their history of medical
conditions.
To
find out more about diet for long life, click on Food
Health & You
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