Just how important is your gut health? I’d say, PRICELESS!
If you have IBD or any autoimmune disease, gut health is extremely important. But it’s also crucial for all of us to maintain health. The links between chronic illness and an imbalanced microbiome (or gut bacteria) keep growing every day.
GUT RELATED TO BRAIN HEALTH
Because of its involvement in digestion, the microbiota can also affect the brain. Some have even called the gut microbiota a “second brain.” Small molecules released by the activity of gut bacteria trigger the response of nerves in the gastrointestinal tract. Links have also been observed between the gut microbiome and brain disorders such as depression and autistic spectrum disorder (ASD).
I’m a huge fan of Dr. Mark Hyman and his work for Institute of Functional Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/departments/functional-medicine
Please see his Broken Brain Series for more info.
Dr Hyman, Broken Brain Series
I could not put down Dr. Perlmutter’s book Brain Maker. It is spot on and a must read!
Dr. Perlmutter, Brain Maker – buy book, watch video trailer here:
https://www.drperlmutter.com/about/brain-maker-by-david-perlmutter-md/
Excerpt from website:
Debilitating brain disorders are on the rise-from children diagnosed with autism and ADHD to adults developing dementia at younger ages than ever before. But a medical revolution is underway that can solve this problem: Astonishing new research is revealing that the health of your brain is, to an extraordinary degree, dictated by the state of your microbiome – the vast population of organisms that live in your body and outnumber your own cells ten to one. What’s taking place in your intestines today is determining your risk for any number of brain-related conditions.
GUT HEALTHY RELATED TO ANXIETY
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/how-gut-bacteria-may-affect-anxiety
Excerpt:
Mounting evidence indicates “that the way we think and feel might be able to be controlled by our gut microbiota,” says study coauthor Gerard Clarke, a psychiatrist at University College Cork in Ireland. For instance, the presence or absence of gut bacteria can influence whether a mouse exhibits anxiety-like behaviors, such as avoiding bright lights or open spaces.
Gut Brain Axis Article – click here
GUT RELATED TO IMMUNITY
Without contact with the microorganisms that colonize us from birth, our adaptive immunity would not exist. Adaptive immunity is the part of our immune system that learns how to respond to microbes after first encountering them, enabling a more rapid defense against disease-causing organisms.
Scientists have found profoundly ill effects in germ-free rodents – rodents that are sterile of microorganisms – and an underdeveloped immunity is among them.
The microbiota also has relevance to autoimmune conditions and allergies, which can be more likely to develop when early microbial exposures are disturbed.
GUT HEALTH RELATED TO WEIGHT LOSS
Dr. Mark Hyman again has great info on this topic.
http://drhyman.com/blog/2016/02/18/how-to-fix-your-gut-bacteria-and-lose-
weight/
Excerpt:
Optimal gut health has become a prominent focus in 21st century health. Having too many bad critters hanging out in the gut has been linked to numerous problems – including autism, obesity, diabetes, allergies, autoimmunity, depression, cancer, heart disease, fibromyalgia, eczema, and asthma.
GUT HEALTH AND MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
Alterations in gut bacteria at a young age could help to trigger and progress multiple sclerosis in people who are genetically predisposed to the autoimmune disease.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320123.php
And All Dr. Terry Wahls and her incredible story and research here.