The Mind-Body Connection to Digestion

Digestion begins with your mind

Contrary to popular belief, digestion begins in the brain and not the mouth. The sheer power of your thoughts, directed towards the foods you choose to consume, activate salivation and enzyme production in your mouth.

So, if our thoughts are powerful enough to activate the digestion process then could they also influence the way in which my body receives the food? Absolutely! Anger, fear, and stress are harmful emotions that cause biochemical changes and challenge the body’s efforts to maintain a balanced internal environment. When we allow poor quality thoughts to permeate our thinking, it triggers an area of the brain called the amygdala ( the brain’s central regulator of fear) which is directly linked to the stomach. Our thoughts have a direct impact on our digestion!

The emergence of negative thoughts sends a flood of toxic chemicals circulating throughout our bloodstream for approximately 72 hours. It is vital that we neutralize these thoughts and let them go, because holding onto negative emotions destroys optimal health.

Physical Symptoms of toxic thought:

• Exhaustion, sleep disturbances, difficulty concentrating, aches/pains, decreased sex drive, constipation, weight loss, weight gain, and menstrual irregularities.

Behavioral Symptoms of toxic thought:

• Indecisive, difficulty setting goals and following through, inability to focus, low self-esteem, lack of self-respect and shyness.

Emotional Symptoms of toxic thought:

• Apathy, guilt, feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, unrealistic fear, depression, pessimism, and suicidal thoughts.

Proverbs 17:1 says: “Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife.”

Control your thoughts, control your health

How do you neutralize negative thoughts? You make a conscious decision to stop focusing and/or reminiscing on the negative and replace it with thoughts of love, gratefulness, peace and harmony. Changing the direction of our thoughts directly effects the amygdala, which is activated by negative emotions, to switch off and allow the septum, which is directly connected to the heart, to light up and dispel the negative emotional toxins. You control your thoughts and whether they will serve you in a beneficial or hurtful manner.

Your gut is a second brain

In the beginning, I pointed out that digestion begins in the brain and originates from an individual’s thoughts and the emotions surrounding those thoughts play a significant role in the ability to digest effectively. This leads to the inevitable question – what is the relationship between the gut and brain?

Neurogastroenterology is the study of the brain, the gut and their interaction with relevance to the understanding and managing of gastrointestinal motility. Emphasis is placed on the upward (sensory) and downward (motor) neural connection, and also on endocrine influences on gut function. The Professor and Chair of Pathology and Cell Biology at Columbia, Michael Gershon, discovered nerve cells in the gut that act as a brain. The more technical term for his discovery was referred to as the Enteric Nervous System. “The gut can work independently of any control by the brain in your head – it’s functioning as a second brain.” Gershon determined that the brain in our head and the other in our gut must cooperate and if they were out of sync, chaos would erupt in the gut and misery in the head. The work of Gershon has shown that the ENS can work all on its own, without any input from the brain, to control the movement and absorption of food scattered throughout the intestines. All other body organs are dependent on the brain which stands on the dais above the neck.

The gut communicates with the brain

I have no doubt we have all heard naysayers declare, “It is all in your head!” But, is it really? Gershon recognized  that, ” In fact, if you cut the vagus nerve- the major nerve between the brain and gut- the gut would soldier on”. During his extensive studying over a period of three decades, Gershon estimated that our second brain system is home to 100 million neurons (as many as the spinal cord) and approximately 40 neurotransmitters (equal to the number we have in our brain).

Jane Foster, a Canadian neuroscientist found that there is continual cross talk between gut bacteria and the brain, beginning from birth to this present moment and beyond. She makes the case that communication plays a significant role in shaping the wiring of the brain. This continual communication becomes more astounding when you recognize that 90% of serotonin produced in the body is located in the gut. This “feel good hormone” is a neurotransmitter responsible for regulating appetite, sex, sleep, relaxation and mood. Neurotransmitters are effectively brain chemicals that communicate information throughout your brain and body.

Foods that increase serotonin levels:

• Pineapple, avocados, asparagus, spinach, pecans, eggplant, walnuts, oats, bananas, flaxseed, turkey, wild salmon, sardines, cocoa and coffee.

Intestinal health influencing mental health?

Now, if our thoughts activate the digestion process and the quality of our thoughts directly affects our body’s ability to digest effectively, is there a link between our intestinal environment influencing our mental health?

The simple answer is YES! The condition of our intestinal ecosystem is essential to the quality of our overall health. It has been estimated that over 10,000 different types of bacteria live inside your second brain. Most of the bacteria is beneficial but when the bad bacteria overpowers and overpopulates the good bacteria, it creates an intestinal nightmare. Our gut requires a balance – too much of one bacteria or too little of another can negatively impinge on the status of our internal environment.

Food choices begin to matter when we realize the implication they have on our entire well-being. Facing the decision to choose between the highly processed chocolate bar or organic avocado – it is important to remember both choices will influence your digestive tract very differently, send opposite signals to your brain and directly affect your outward demeanor.

When our intestinal environment is balanced with no evidence of putrification or autointoxication, we can enjoy whole body health from a mental, emotional, and physical state.

Conclusion:

The power of your thoughts is related to the success of the digestion process as the gut and brain relate to each other, but yet work independent of each other; however, in order to achieve a harmonious internal environment, both must be cooperating as one.

Blog post courtesy of Emily Hart @ Mind-Body Connection

Photo courtesy of http://www.freeimages.co.uk/

Category : Blog Posted on October 22, 2013