The gut-brain connection

Despite wanting to record a video for this post, I have, for no reason that I can put my finger on, been avoiding that. And so, rather than maintain the deafening silence (honestly, it's been getting to me!) I've decided to just type this one out. And if I do a video later, then I do a video later. One of the things I've learned on my healing journey is to not push myself just because I've created an idea in my head of how things 'should' be done. It's all about self-care 🤗

So, the gut-brain connection.

Loooooooooooong before human beings developed our capacity for rational thought as we know it today 🧠, we had our gut. Our gut was our guide. That hasn't changed - think of every cop movie you've ever seen and the line 'I can feel it in my gut' - but we've learned to suppress our gut signals in favor of our rational mind. So our gut is still there, hard at work, even though we've learned to ignore what it's saying to us most of the time. 

In fact, think about it. When we're afraid, where do we feel it? It's our stomach that flip flops. When we're nervous or excited, the butterflies are in our stomachs. Or what about when we have a big decision to make? After listing all the pros and cons and overthinking everything to infinity and beyond, we always always consider what feels right. And sometimes our feelings about something outweigh the very neat, logical list.

And the connection goes deeper than that ... of course.

I was first introduced to the gut-brain connection by Jamie, and I've kept learning by reading more articles than I've kept track of and watching interviews with various specialists - microbiologists, functional medicine practitioners, neurologists, nutritionists, autoimmune illness specialists.

In my last post, "The tinnitus, hormone imbalance, and fibro relationship" (which I can't believe was written over two months ago! Time really has flown!) I mentioned 'increased intestinal permeability' aka 'leaky gut'. If you haven't read that post, please go back and read it. First, because I do share an at-home way you can check for leaky gut - which absolutely does not take the place of going to your doctor to get tested if you want to make sure and before you start doing anything. 

💥Pause here for a very important message💥

Please please please please please never take anything I say here as a substitute for appropriate medical care. One of the reasons I'm sharing the names of people I've either worked with or researched and learned from is to help you find someone who can help you if, like I did, you're struggling to find a medical practitioner who you feel comfortable and confident with.

End of message 😊

And, second, because my posts do build on each other so if you skip one, the others may not make as much sense as they should. So go on back and read my last post; I'll wait here for you 😁

While I'm waiting, I'll share a photo of my favorite installation at one of the metro stations in Naples: Piazza Garibaldi. They're made of recycled plastic and I fell in love with them the second I saw them!

Welcome back 😄 Now let's get started. 

Most of us have this idea that our guts are the smooth, impermeable highway our food travels down on its way out of our bodies. We know, at the back of our minds, that that's not exactly true because it's through our guts that the nutrients from our food find their way to the rest of our bodies so, really, there's got to be a way that things can get out of our guts to travel to the rest of our bodies. But, honestly, as average human beings, we haven't given it that much thought.

The thing is, our guts are more like roof shingles: neatly overlapping, keeping (thanks to the gut microbiome - more on that below) what needs to stay in, in, while allowing little windows of opportunity for what needs to get out, to get out. And when our guts are irritated, the shingles separate, and when they separate, things that need to stay in, get out; things that are, effectively, toxic; not necessarily because they're innately toxic - we're not eating rat poison, after all - but because they're going where they shouldn't be. And that's when a lot of things can start to go wrong because once those things get out, our cells go on the offensive (more on this below, especially when I introduce cell danger response). 

First things first: What can irritate our guts? Answer: Different things. Certain illnesses like celiac disease or type 1 diabetes. Certain medications like chemotherapy or antibiotics (now you know why when doctors prescribe a high dose of antibiotics for something they'll usually prescribe an antifungal or probiotic along with it). And, the one you've been waiting for, certain foods can irritate our guts and those foods are usually guilty of being gluten foods. Which is why one of the first things a functional medicine practitioner will do for a client who has fibro or CFS is stop their clients from eating grains. Read that again: I said grains. I didn't say wheat, cereal, pasta or any of the other foods we equate containing gluten. "Why?" I hear you ask. Because all grains contain gluten to varying degrees. And all people are gluten-intolerant to varying degrees. I have a friend who's celiac and she doesn't go anywhere near grains. As for me, ever since I went grain-free and lost so much of that weight that I'd gained because of the insulin resistance, I can tell, within 20 minutes of eating something, whether I've inadvertently introduced a grain into my body. My mouth goes dry, I bloat, and, if I've eaten too much for whatever reason, constipation is guaranteed (if it gets too uncomfortable, I drink some milk to counter the constipation coz #lactoseintolerant).

Of course, all bodies are different and there may be other foods that irritate our guts. For me, for example, it's gluten, lactose, and soy. I don't go near any of those. (Side note: just before Christmas I was madly craving, for about two weeks, a bowl of cereal. No matter what I ate, I could not get rid of the craving for a big bowl of bran flakes with shaved coconut and dried fruit drenched in milk ... my mouth's watering right now just thinking about it 😋)

So, what does this have to do with our brains?

Using your deductive powers, you've probably surmised that once things that are meant to stay in our guts get out and travel all over our bodies, they will eventually find their way to our brains. Gold star for you! (I'm being serious, you've taken in a lot of information until now: ⭐)

And just because life ain't that simple, there's even more to it than that. But before we dive into that, I'm going to give you another photo break to relax your brain a little before you take in even more information. 

This is me enjoying the best gelato I've ever had courtesy of the award-winning Gelateria Dondoli in San Gimignano, Siena, Italy. 😋  I have no idea why my left eye is closed 😄

The gut and brain are actually biologically connected. And I'm going to use bullet points and start with the shortest explanation first so because otherwise, it'll just get overwhelming for me to write and you to read. Do remember though, that just because I've separated them, it doesn't mean they're separate. It's all one great big, gloriously complex whole. I admit that there's a whole of science here that I don't fully understand and, so, won't share. That lack of knowledge doesn't affect my ability to share what I do understand and communicate the importance of the gut-brain connection.

1. The gut microbiome is the combination of anywhere between 10 and 100 trillion microbial cells (including bacteria, viruses, fungi). We've all seen the ads for products we can buy in the supermarket or over-the-counter at the pharmacy, the probiotics and prebiotics, that balance the gut microbiome or increase the good gut bacteria. When our microbiome is stable, our gastrointestinal (GI) tract is stable, and when our gut microbiome is unstable, it releases molecules into the GI tract signaling that something is wrong. This instability and resulting communication which, as you'll see below has further-reaching consequences, has been found to influence behavior, immunity, disease, and nutrition. For example, gut bacteria produce hundreds of neurochemicals that our brains use to regulate things like memory and mood and it's our gut that synthesizes and secrets a number of hormones. In fact, more than 90% of our serotonin is produced in the gut, not the brain! And what's serotonin responsible for? A healthy mood and healthy GI activity.
   
   
2. Now, about that GI tract ... most people are familiar with the phrase 'central nervous system' (CNS) but not so much with 'enteric nervous system' (ENS); two thin layers of hundreds of millions of neurons, nerve cells, and neurotransmitters that line the entire GI tract, stretching from our esophagus to our rectum. When our gut microbiome and/or GI tract are irritated, these cells communicate with our central nervous system, essentially sending out distress signals. Similarly, when our central nervous system is unbalanced, it communicates with our enteric nervous system which is why, for example, when we get nervous before asking someone we like out on a date or giving a big presentation, we get butterflies in our stomachs. What this has led some mental health professionals as well as researchers who study acute GI problems such as IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) or chronic constipation to believe, not to say conclude, is that what some mental challenges such as depression or anxiety are heavily impacted by, some go even as far as to say 'created in', is the gut and what's created there travels up to the brain rather than being created in the brain and staying there. This is one of the reasons why diet now plays a bigger part in regulating bowel function than it has done so far. Just a few days ago, MIT released an article discussing how their researchers had developed what they've called "organs on a chip" to help them replicate and better understand interactions between the brain, liver, and colon; specifically, in this case, as it affects Parkinson's Disease. You can read it here. Truthfully, I have a friend who struggled with anxiety and OCD for years. A few months after he started working with Jamie and cleaned up his diet, he not only lost so very much weight, but, based on observations by his circle of friends, his anxiety and OCD were barely noticeable.
   
   
3. And finally, the big one: the vagus nerve. Have you heard of it? I hadn't. The vagus nerve is the longest cranial nerve we have and runs all the way from our brain to our gut hitting all our organs including our lungs, heart, spleen, liver, kidneys, and intestines. So you can see, it's rather an important nerve. Part of what the vagus nerve does, and this is the part that's important when it comes to the fibro healing journey, is regulate our bodies' reactions after the fight and flight responses to stimuli. You see, in addition to the CNS and ENS, we have an autonomic nervous system (ANS) which has sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions. The sympathetic division is what gets our bodies ready to fight or flee. The parasympathetic division (ie: vagus nerve) is what either calms us back down or takes us into freeze mode. Of all of these, it's only when we're calm that our cells can relax and repair themselves. Being in freeze, as the name suggests, keeps our cells frozen in whatever state they were in. For example, whhen animals go into freeze mode (think of a gazelle being chased by a lioness), they play dead; they wait for the threat to go away (the lioness drops the gazelle to go round up her cubs) and then they get up and flee and, when they get far enough away from the threat, they feel safe again. For humans, it's a bit more complex than that. When we go into fight or flight mode, our cells' mitochondria - the energy-generating powerhouses in our cells - gear up for action. This is called the cell danger response. And sometimes, as with fibro or chronic fatigue syndrome or Lyme disease or any number of illnesses, the cells don't back down. Effectively, our bodies are permanently ready for battle. Frozen in a state of agitation. The theory is that the vagus nerve is, for whatever reason, unable to function as it needs to in order to relax our bodies and get our cells to back down. There are a number of things which, either consistently on their own or in combination, will cause our cells to be permanently on guard: physical or psychological trauma (big T or small t), chemical stressors (eg: toxic chemicals that find their way into our system), and biological stressors (eg: mold - and there's a lot of talk about the link between mold and fibro and CFS but I won't go into that). The foremost authority on this, who has been referenced by pretty much everyone I've learned from in this last year, is Prof. Robert Naviaux at the UC San Diego School of Medicine. You can read a very succinct article about his work here.

• There are three ways I'm aware of that help with determining if the vagus nerve is operating optimally: 1. In a relaxed position (eg: lying down) is it your belly or your chest that expands with your in-breath? If it's the belly, your vagus nerve is generally ok. If it's your chest, your vagus nerve is probably a bit sluggish. It's a very superficial reason that causes our chests rather than our bellies to expand with our in-breaths: when our belly expands, we look fat. And we live in a society that values thin bodies over fat ones. So we've taught ourselves to chest breathe rather than belly breathe. 2. How long does it take foods to pass through your digestive system? Eat something that the body doesn't digest easily - sesame seeds are good for this because they're white so they'll show up easier when they're passed out of our bodies - and pay attention to how long it takes them to go from your mouth to your toilet bowl. Depending on you who ask, you'll hear that anywhere between 12 and 24 hours is generally ok. You also want to pay attention to what your poop looks like. Ideally, it'll be smooth, almost sausage-like, and keep its shape in the bowl. Anything softer or harder than that is usually an indication that your digestive system is experiencing some distress. 3. Heart rate variability. This is the variation in time between each heartbeat measured in milliseconds (because the time between each heartbeat does vary) and is something your doctor will check.
   
• The good news is that there are ways to stimulate a sluggish vagus nerve at home - some of which are less comfortable than others. Generally, anything that causes vibrations in the back of your throat, because that's the part of the body that's easiest to 'access' the vagus nerve, is fine. Experts recommend gagging, humming, gargling, and chanting. The important thing is to really put your whole heart and soul into it to create really forceful, deep vibrations that you can sustain for about 30 seconds. So for example, when you gag, you want to really get in there and heave and tear up; when you gargle, you want the liquid to jump out of your mouth. Now honestly, I don't like any of these. The gagging and gargling are super uncomfortable (are you surprised?) and the humming and chanting are just boring. So I sing 🎤. I live alone and my voice is rather loud and strong so it works for me.
   
• Meditating is also very important to stimulating the vagus nerve and calming the body because it focuses on deep, controlled breaths which can stimulate the vagus nerve - you want to really breathe super deep and stretch your belly as far out as it will go. I don't know about you, but meditating is very difficult for me. I mean, my brain just won't chill. My thoughts are all over the place all the time which, obviously, isn't any good for keeping my stress levels down. And I thank Alex Howard for teaching me how to meditate. As part of his RESET program he shares some meditation tracks and in the first one I listened to, he said that our mind is going to do what it's going to do; we're going to have thoughts; we're going to let them happen, and then bring ourselves back to focusing on our breath. And you can do this as many times as you have to during any meditation. I also thank Alex for making it clear that the goal isn't to have a 'perfect' meditation session each time because that's just not possible - and this is something I know from going to gym: not every session is going to be 'perfect' for different reasons ... you're just not into it that day or your body is tired ... whatever. And just like going the gym, the aim is for consistent effort. We don't give up and we don't pressure ourselves to do more than we're capable of at the time.

And that's enough for today. Well done to you for getting through all this! It's a lot, I know. And, actually, I'm thinking it's a good thing I typed this instead of doing a video for it so you can easily re-read and digest (no pun intended!)

Here are a few people for you to check out who, along with Jamie and Alex, contributed to the knowledge I've shared in this post:

Dr. Rodger Murphree, DC, CNS www.yourfibrodoctor.com 

Peter Osborne, DA, DACBN, PSCD www.drpeterosborne.com

Kiran Krishnan, a microbiologist who is one half of the brains behind Microbiome Labs

Dr. Peter Kan, MD www.askdrkan.com