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Your Gut May Hold Key to Increased Brain Health/Function

You may not be aware that you actually have two separate but connected nervous systems:

The Central nervous system, composed of your brain and spinal cord protected by your spine

The Enteric nervous system, which is the intrinsic (within) nervous system of your gastrointestinal tract

These both are created from the same tissue during fetal development in the womb—one piece turns into your central nervous system while the other develops into your enteric nervous system (Gut). The two systems are connected via a cranial nerve directly off of the brain stem called the vagus nerve. It is now well established that the vagus nerve is the primary route your gut bacteria use to communicate information to your brain about what is going on in your tummy.

While many think their brain as in charge, your gut actually sends far more information back to your brain than your brain sends to your gut. To put this into more real terms, you’ve probably experienced the Gut sensation of butterflies in your stomach when you’re nervous, or had an upset stomach when you were very angry at something. The flip side is also true, in that problems in your gut (from the bad processed food we eat) can directly impact your brain, leading to issues like stress, anxiety and depression.

So 3 simple way to combat this and enhance your normal balance between your “Two Brains” is as follows:

1) Limit or remove processed foods

2) only eat animal protein that is raised without steroid or antibiotic usage (Organic or free-range)

3) Build back your gut bacteria (Flora) strength with a probiotic supplement or with organic/ raw milk yogurt.

Hope this helps give you a little better understanding of why your diet is important to your whole health.

Dr. Philip Mahan, D.C.

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