The gut brain connection
This is an absolutely fascinating subject that I thought warranted note. It's amazing how mental health and physical health can be linked to the health of the bacteria in our gut. Considering that most Americans consume a SAD diet, it's not surprising to me at all that so many suffer depression. Our heavy reliance on antibiotics most likely is also a contributing factor. "The gut-brain axis is a term for the communication network that connects your gut and brain. These two organs are connected both physically and biochemically in a number of different ways." We are fearfully and wonderfully made!
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/gut-brain-connection#TOC_TITLE_HDR_2
Comments
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With a couple of exceptions, " we are what we eat" and it's taken me a while to really get my head around that simple phrase. Our gut health is paramount to healthy outcomes for the rest of the body. Immune system, brain health, heart health. We are wonderfully made and need to look after that. @karenjanicki thanks for posting such an important discussion.
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It's a fascinating subject. I agree that in many ways we truly are what we consume. I cut sugar from my diet and the change has been very distinct. I noticed a clearer head, less mood swings, less anxiety, a happier disposition and more motivation. I'm still noticing skin issues so I think the next detox I want to do is dairy. I suspect my body does not react well with it so I want to eliminate it and see if that makes changes. I started drinking a gut healing herbal tea and went from near constant gut pain and digestion issues to virtually no pain and normal eliminations. Going from a SAD diet to a low carb whole foods diet has radically changed my health in a very short period of time. I absolutely believe that the health of your gut is directly associated with the health of the rest of your body.
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@karenjanicki a very interesting and useful topic for discussion. I strongly believe, that our food influences our brain, emotions, feelings, our physical state and amount of energy and much more. I think it is so important to eat natural products and as wide a variety as possible not forgetting the wild plants so that our bodies get a proper variety of ingredients from natural products itself. Actually, I am against food supplements. We are part of nature and we are designed to take food from nature for all our functions
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If you google gut-brain connection there are so many things that come up. Books, webinars, blogs, articles by mainstream medical professionals articles by herbalists & other original medicine practitioners and ads for products to assist with the gut brain connection (pro & pre biotics, omegas, collagen peptides, digestive enzymes, etc.). Original medicine practitioners have a long history of recognizing the gut brain connection and almost all of these modalities include addressing the diet and nutritional issues which may be at the root of many illnesses and conditions.
There have been lots of discussions on TGN about bitters and how useful they are for maintaining good gut health, along with including herbs to assist with other parts of our healing journeys. Its one of the things that I recommend for most of my clients.
I'm not a fan of supplements but I do suggest them for some people just because I know they won't be compliant with any of the other suggestions I might make. Pills are familiar and easy. Sometimes when they see how they feel after taking supplements, they are more willing to try other things.
Feed you r body and feed your mind.
Great discussion.
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I agree. I try to consume a very natural whole foods diet incorporating a variety of herbs. I also enjoy foraging for wild edibles and medicinals. I believe God created everything we need for health and wellbeing growing in our gardens and beautiful wild places. I used to take many supplements but I've moved away from most of that and started studying herbalism to utilize these plants directly for the wonderful healing and restoring benefits.
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I have been researching burdock and dandelion and their prebiotic constituent, inulin. Plants commonly considered obnoxious weeds "ruining" manicured lawns and yet they offer so many healing and nutritional benefits. Feeding probiotics is essential to their health and wellbeing, which in turn is essential to our own. It's absolutely fascinating!
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Oh, it’s amazing how much one can get from wild nature. And how much one can learn from it and from nature loving people
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I am much healthier since I've discovered herbalism and began eating and drinking my weeds. Everything we need has been given to us by God/Nature is we just do a little research and investigation. I am slowly getting my grown family into the natural way of living by gifting them teas, tinctures, fire cider, and healing salves.
My overweight, always unwell brother-in-law went to the doctors for stomach problems. When I suggested specific bitters, he stated that his doctor said his diet didn't make a difference. He has yet to change his way of thinking, adding a new prescription to his daily intake, and has not found much relief.
As for me, I'll stick with the natural remedies and remain well.
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Dr Zach Bush has great insights regarding gut health. He is promoting his own humic based gut product too. So wanted to let you know that as a warning. His research into the devastating of effects of glycophosphate AKA roundup on gut health is probably the best ive seen.
https://neurohacker.com/gut-health-and-the-microbiome-with-zach-bush-md
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Thank you for sharing that. Roundup is an absolute nightmare. It's remarkable that they are even legally allowed to manufacture it anymore now that it's effects have been clearly shown as dangerous. I will never understand the appeal of a "perfectly manicured lawn". Who wants a yard full of toxins? I don't get it.
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I agree. So much can be changed so simply. I used to suffer horrible, debilitating stomach pain, for years. I had my gallbladder out in my early 20s and doctors thought it had to do with that. They diagnosed it as IBS and it was so bad I quit a job over it. Nothing ever helped. I lived on tums and immodium for years. No one ever had any answers. I bought a book on IBS and natural things to heal it. Except that book straight up said there is no cure. I was so disheartened. However a couple of wonderful herbalists recommended a recipe for what they called a "gut healing" tea. I am a big believer in using herbs so I made it up and it has absolutely changed my life. I coupled that with a low carb refined sugar free diet and all those symptoms are gone. No more pain. No more misery. No more otc pills. It has been an absolute blessing in my life.
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This is a great discussion. I would just add that not only are we what we eat, but we are also what the food we eat, eats. These days we have to be aware of what is in the ground and water that might get absorbed by the plants growing in that location.
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Absolutely! I'm glad you mentioned that. That goes for both the food we buy and the food we forage. Many places where wild edibles and medicinals are growing are not good places to harvest from. Roadsides, train tracks, beside polluted waterways, around the foundations of old homes and barns or in areas that have been sprayed can all present problems. Some plants are bioaccumulative and collect pesticides, heavy metals and nasties from the soil. Growing our own food can really help us in assuring the quality of the plants we grow.
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One of the pathways that has been established for the gut-brain connection is the Vagus nerve. I don't recall the study that was done that found severing the Vagus nerve stopped some impact on the brain from the gut. I think it was some bacteria that was found to actually be transferred from the GI tract to the brain, but I am not certain I had time to make this comment or try to find the study and chose to post here. Have a pleasant day
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I found this article that discusses the vagus nerve and some of it's amazing abilities.
https://innovativemedicine.com/the-vagus-nerve-the-key-to-unlock-the-gut-brain-and-body-connection/
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Thank you @karenjanicki That wasn't the article that I had seen, but it is definitely more information than I posted earlier.
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Gut - brain connection YES!! Thanks for sharing! So many connections with everything we do, was it Einstein that said, "Everything is energy " or do I have that backwards "Energy is everything?" ? My family currently lives in a place w/o a yard so only have indoor capabilities for growing but just recently purchased a place in a different state (larger populace too) with an actual yard. There are some existing fruit trees & an existing garden bed however it is in an old mining town so I suspect the soil contains all sorts of nasties....SO the yummy looking berries in the garden will wait until next year and some testing is done...
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@karenjanicki It sounds like you've achieved the happy gut health that I'm currently trying to acquire myself. I've changed my diet and am looking/researching more about herbs to incorporate them into my and my families diet. I even tried to grow some of them in my garden this year. This is a great discussion and I look forward to checking out the links posted to learn and grow in more knowledge and understanding on how to heal our gut issues. Thank you of starting this dialog.
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The gut-brain connection is important. Thanks for creating this discussion. I’ve been doing an elimination or anti-inflammation diet (Whole30 and paleo) off and on for the last three years, and my digestion and level of irritability have improved greatly. It’s amazing how much our physical health affects our emotional health. Adding lacto and homemade sauerkraut to my diet has also helped.
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My pleasure :). It was honestly such a blessing to me, to learn from two wonderful herbalists a gut healing tea blend. Changing my diet, adding in probiotics and drinking the tea have helped me so much. I truly believe they can help others too and I hate to see anyone suffer.
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I make homemade yogurt and sauerkraut. Those are my primary means of probiotics.
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Congratulations on your new yard! I am hoping to plant a garden at my parents place come spring but I have containers I use to grow herbs on my porch.
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I found another interesting article I thought I would share
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Great information here. I have made a few tweaks but I really need to make some serious changes to my diet. I have celiac and colitis and mental health issues. Thank you for motivating and reminding me to get back on track with focusing on gut health for overall health improvement.
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@karenjanicki Can you give us the recipe for the "gut healing tea"? Thank you.
DDP
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You're welcome! I myself have to get back to working on it. I've been distracted the last 2 weeks and I'm noticing stomach issues again. I need to make some tweaks and corrections to get back to where I was.
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I would be happy too but everytime I try to share the article anywhere I have problems. It won't upload or disappears. It might be a copywrite issue or something. It was designed by the herbalists at commonwealth herbs. Katja and Ryn are wonderful. If you go to their school and email them they could probably get it to you :)
Check out commonwealthherbs.com
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@karenjanicki Thank you. I will give that a try.
DDP
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You're welcome. I pray they can help you out. They really are wonderful.
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@karenjanicki your recommendation to Common Wealth Center for Holistic Herbalism is appreciated. They seem to have much to offer for individuals of all levels on their herbal learning journey. Thank you.
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