Read this only if you fit into 1 of these 2 groups.
1- You feel something weird happening to you when you think about having to speak in front of a lot of people or sit for an entrance exam or an interview for your dream job.
2- You have been feeling more stressed,anxious or sad than usual, it has become a little more difficult to deal with tough situations and stay calm.
If you are reading this and you want to know what might be causing these things, let’s introduce you to your “gut”.Now you both might not need an introduction because you live together but “Gut” feels like you don’t really know it and you don’t even make an effort to understand what gut feels or likes or dislikes or what all it does for you.
Don’t worry “Gut” lets teach your human a few lessons from your book -
“An Intro to the life of Gut”
Chapter 10 - Why im the second brain
Chapter 12- Bow to me, I control your mood (maybe)
Chapter 17 - How to take better care
Chapter 10 - Why im the second brain
You might not know this but I'm home to my own nervous system called the enteric nervous system. Okay, it does not think like the brain but it controls digestion & nutrient absorption (Thank me later ). I also communicate with the brain, that's why a lot of scientists are now starting to talk so much more about us & what they call Bi-directional communication. Don’t know why they make it so complicated. It's like a whatsapp call that never ends for us.
Also, fun fact ( Not to show off ) but i have more than 100 million subscribers wait no i mean neurons. Which is more than what your spinal cord has. Hahaha
Moving on, it's these neurons that line the digestive tract that cause the sensation of the “pit” in your stomach and 90% of the cells involved in these responses carry information to the brain. That's why i'm an influencer that actually makes a difference( Not like most of the ones you have in your world ). Yup, I said that.
Chapter 12 - Bow to me, I control your mood (Maybe)
Did you know that 90% of the serotonin is manufactured in the digestive tract and not the brain. Yes, the same chemical that is responsible for helping in regulating depression & happiness. Not only that, a team of scientists found that the bacteria that live in me help manufacture dopamine,norepinephrine, acetylcholine, and GABA, which are critical for things like concentration, reward & motivation.
Let me also tell you a very interesting study done by researchers at UCLA where a group of healthy women with no gastrointestinal or psychiatric symptoms were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: fermented milk product with probiotics "yoghourt," a non-fermented milk product (with a probiotic) , or no intervention. They consumed this twice daily for four weeks.
Researchers collected brain images before and after to look for any brain changes in response to tasks that require emotional attention. The results were pretty cool- there were significant differences in how the brains reacted during the emotional task. The group of women who consumed fermented milk for only four weeks had calmer brains during the emotional task, the no-intervention group showed the opposite trend, more brain hyperactivity during the emotional task.
Amazing, right ?
Anyway, moving on.
Chapter 17 - How to take better care
Now that you know gut bacteria produce chemicals that are important for your mood, behaviour and other things. It is important to provide a healthy environment that supports all this, because it might help you feel better too. So how do you really take better care of me?
Well, I'm not very demanding, so let me give you a few suggestions.
1- I love fibre, stuff like whole grains(rolled oats) .I have a bias for stuff from rootivate.Try it
2- I love vegetables & fruits
3- I absolutely love fermented foods like yoghurt ( no sugar please )
4- I hate Highly processed foods, especially stuff that has added flavours,colours, preservatives,additives, the list goes on.
5- You probably need to push but get some exercise! Please!
See, simple
Read Good. Feel Good