The Science of a Gut Feeling

 

That gut feeling that creeps up at times is more accurate than most people realize. The gut-brain axis is a system of communication between the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and the brain that goes both ways and is responsible for monitoring physiological homeostasis. It connects both the emotional and cognitive areas of the brain with functions associated with the intestines including immune activation, intestinal permeability, and endocrine signaling.

Bi-directional communication between the gut and brain is largely carried out by the vagus nerve, which carries a wide range of signals between the gut and brain and is involved in many bodily processes ranging from swallowing to heart rate regulation to digestion. Other systems also contribute to the gut-brain axis, including the sympathetic nervous system, enteric nervous system, parasympathetic nervous system, endocrine and immune systems. The gut-brain axis is being increasingly studied for its role in the development, but also the therapeutic treatment, of inflammatory bowel disease, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.  Yes, depression and PTSD can be helped if you heal the gut.  

The role of of healthy gut microbiome in the gut-brain axis

The gut microbiome is an extremely important part of the GI tract, and as such, a critical player in the gut-brain axis. Bacteria in the gut microbiome synthesize and produce important metabolites that affect the brain, including the neurotransmitters dopamine, serotonin, GABA, acetylcholine, and histamine.

These metabolites can signal at the local level or travel to the brain where they affect signaling and function in brain cells.  Other components of the gut microbiome, including healthy fungi, also contribute to the communication along the gut-brain axis.

Bacteria in the GI tract also synthesize compounds that may act as neuro-mediators in the brain, including short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), aromatic amino acids, and bile acids. SCFAs indirectly affect the gut-brain axis through inducing the release of several gut hormones, including leptin, which interact with the vagus nerve and receptors in the brain. SCFAs also contribute to the maintenance of physical barriers including the intestinal barrier, via tight junctions, as well as the blood brain barrier. Tight junctions are critical to the maintenance of intestinal permeability, preventing pathogens from entering the bloodstream and causing immune and inflammatory responses, including neuroinflammation.  In our office we do a lot to help heal the intestinal wall.  When it leaks we call it leaky gut and a lot can be done with food to heal it.  We also do a lot to help heal a leaky brain too. 

Imbalance in the composition of the gut microbiome, called dysbiosis, can affect the gut-brain axis and peripheral organs. Unhealthy diet, stress, infections, and antibiotics contribute to dysbiosis, leading to altered SCFA production and gut permeability, which induces systemic inflammation, increases blood brain barrier permeability, and ultimately results in neuroinflammation, an important step in the development of neurological conditions such as depression and even Alzheimer’s disease.

Gut hormones

The gut-brain axis is heavily involved in the digestion process, including regulating the rate of nutrient absorption and release of gut hormones. Gut hormones are regulatory peptides that influence the control of food intake by regulating satiety, gastric emptying, and energy balance. Signaling molecules released after ingestion of food are communicated to the brain via the gut-brain axis and the brain can then signal for the release of hunger-regulating hormones, such as ghrelin and leptin, to help with the digestion process via the gut-brain axis.

The Gut-Brain Axis and the HPA Axis

The gut-brain axis and the HPA axis (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis), which coordinates the response to stress, both involve signaling in the brain and the ability to respond to stimuli. Signaling molecules that are generated by the HPA axis in response to stress travel throughout the body and affect the gut microbiome and gut microbiome conversely influence HPA axis response to stress. The vagus nerve is critical in coordinating the connection between these axes as it is able to detect different metabolites produced by the gut flora responding to stress and generate a response in the central nervous system.

Because the HPA axis and gut-brain axis are closely connected, improper activation of the HPA axis affects the gut-brain axis. Dysregulation of the HPA axis can alter the composition of the gut microbiome, negatively affecting intestinal barrier integrity, and negatively influence the metabolism of tryptophan metabolites, important modulators of the gut-brain axis. Improper activation of the HPA axis can also lead to increased intestinal, systemic, and neurological inflammation.  

Disorders Related to the Gut-Brain Axis

Because the gut affects so much we specialize in creating a healthy gut microbiome by first helping patients detox and then kill bad gut flora.  After that is accomplished we then put good gut flora in.  Even when it comes to depression and anxiety, we help patients heal the gut and they feels so much better! To understand more about the 4 steps to heal the gut watch this video: https://youtu.be/83xHeFqR62w.

The composition of the gut microbiome and diet, among other lifestyle factors, can lead to emotional balance and mood disorders. However, mood disorders and emotional balance are also linked to changes in gut microbiome and to a poor diet, which can further exacerbate the issue. When patients first come to Healing Arts they are stuck in a cycle where they don’t feel good so they eat poorly and end up feeding the bad gut flora that grows and continues to make them feel bad.  Stopping this cycle is the first thing we have to do.  

Probiotics

Treatment with probiotics has been shown to decrease stress-induced inflammatory responses, reducing symptoms of stress including anxiety- and depression-like behaviors. Probiotics may be able to restore neuroplasticity in certain areas of the brain as well as restore intestinal barrier integrity and help regulate the HPA axis. So not only does it work in the gut but also the brain. Probiotics with anti-inflammatory effects that may be useful in treating patients with psychiatric disorders have been given a new grouping, called psychobiotics. There are lots of different types of probiotics and getting muscle tested for the specific one for your body is important.  

Dietary components

Diets high in saturated fats, including the Standard American Diet, can lead to gut microbiome dysbiosis and obesity, characterized by high levels of inflammation. This can lead to changes in neurotransmitter metabolism, further impacting the gut-brain axis.  A high fat diet may also result in impaired neuroplasticity in key brain regions and impair the intestinal barrier and mucus layer of the gut.

Conversely, the Mediterranean diet, rich in fruits, vegetables, omega-3 fatty acids, nuts, whole grains and lean protein foods, provides many dietary compounds that support both brain and gut health. If you aren’t going to get muscle tested for your specific diet then you may want to consider the Mediterranean diet.  A Mediterranean-style diet can reduce intestinal inflammation, cognitive impairment, and risk of certain neurological diseases. The diet is also full of dietary fiber which helps promote SCFA production, increases the diversity of the gut microbiome, and inhibits neuroinflammation induced by a high fat diet. Healthier diets also tend to contain more fruits and vegetables which are naturally higher in prebiotics and polyphenols. Polyphenols exert anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects and can also modulate the gut microbiome.

Exercise

Engaging in regular exercise, including aerobic exercises and yoga, supports the health of the gut-brain axis. Exercise improves cognition and can improve symptoms of both mood and psychological disorders.  It can also boost the diversity of the gut microbiome, leading to an increase in SCFA production, which promotes healthy functioning of both the gut and brain, decreasing depression and anxiety and increasing HPA axis balance.

The gut-brain axis connects emotional and cognitive areas of the brain with gut functions. What was once thought to be two distinct systems of the body are intricately connected and regulated, with important consequences for the rest of the body. A healthy gut = a healthy brain and emotional life.

Good Gut Flora = Good Brain Health

At Healing Arts we do a lot of work with patients of reestablishing their gut environment.  This type of healing usually starts with giving patients supplements to kill bad gut flora and remove toxins from the gut.  Once that phase is over, we then give supplements to put good gut flora back in and other supplements that may be needed to rebuild the gut.  This process of getting rid of toxins, bad microbes, heavy metals or chemicals, and inflammatory foods by using food supplements from an organic farm is how we give people back their health.  We see all the time how helping detox from the gut in particular helps with brain chemistry.  The majority of your neurotransmitters for your brain are made in the large intestine by bacteria.  Yes, the bacteria actually produce serotonin, dopamine and GABA all of which play a key role in mood.   So if the large intestinal environment is not healthy one could feel anxious, moody or depressed.

Functional medicine calls this the gut-brain axis and we need to make sure that it is healthy.  One example of the relationship between the brain and the gut is IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) which has the common symptom of getting worse with stress.  So not only does the gut make the neurotransmitters for the brain but it's a two way street and the mental stress in the brain can affect the function of the bowels. 

                                

Sleep can also be affected by the health of the gut for melatonin which was thought to only be produced in the brain by the pineal gland is also produced in the gut.  By getting rid of toxins and reestablishing a healthier gut flora with good bacteria we help people get off their sleeping aids and antidepressants.  We have been doing this for over 13 years at Healing Arts and are so glad science is catching up to our results in the office for about 11 months ago scientists actually started identifying which bacteria were linked to depression in this study in Nature Microbiology.

Why Good Gut Health Is Important for a Good Mood

Why Good Gut Health Is Important for a Good Mood

New research is emerging every day regarding the role of the gut and how it effects the brain.  It is now known in the medical world as 'gut-brain axis'.  The good bacteria that is in your gut are responsible to create a healthy environment so the gut can make the right neurotransmitters for the brain. This healthy bacteria is known as a microbiome that line our digestive tracts. The digestive tract itself is a center point of the nervous system, hormonal system and immune system. It is responsible for the balance of our molecules of emotion called neurotransmitters and as a result has an effect on our mood. Good gut health is known not only to help the digestion, but are key factors in obesity, hormonal balance, healthy kidney function, and much more.

How Do Probiotics Help the Brain?
Medical research is uncovering the mechanism of probiotics in mood. Probiotics is the name of supplements that contain good bacteria.  These healthy germs boost mood in two important ways: they generate a particular neurotransmitter called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and also enhance the brain receptors for GABA as well. Like a warm and gentle blanket for the brain, GABA is a calming amino acid, known to calm areas of the brain that are over active in anxiety and panic.

Animal studies working with mice showed those mice who ingested probiotics were, in general, more chilled out than the control mice.  The probiotic mice had lower levels of corticosterone in response to stress. Corticosterone is the mouse version of the human stress hormone cortisol. High levels of cortisol are common in anxiety as well as depression.  These mice were fed either the probiotic strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus or a broth without these. The lactobacillus-fed animals showed significantly fewer stress, anxiety and depression-related behaviors than those fed with just broth.

Human studies have also corroborated these mice findings. A French team learned via a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized parallel group study that giving humans specific strains of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium for 30 days yielded beneficial psychological effects including lowered depression, less anger and hostility, anxiety, and better problem solving, compared with the placebo group. 

Yeast and the Microbiome
While a healthy microbiome will contribute to good mood, an unhealthy one full of Candida albicans (yeast), and all the toxins associated with it, may also contribute to mood disorder. Presence of yeast will alter the ability to absorb nutrients and push hypersensitivity reactions of toxin by-products which translates to inflammation in the body. Inflammation will greatly contribute to depression, anxiety and poor mental function.

What You Can Do To Keep Your Microbiome Healthy?
Steps you can take for a healthy microbiome and mood are:
1 – Avoid excess sugary foods: to avoid yeast build up. If you think you may have Candida it is best to follow a Candida diet or get foods muscle tested using Nutrition Response Testing to figure out what foods are feeding the Candida. 
2 – Good Quality Sleep: good sleep is key for the intestinal lining to repair and create a healthy microbiome.
3 – Meditation and Relaxation: Meditation and quality down time is important to keep the body in the ‘rest and digest’ mode instead of stress mode. Stress mode shuts circulation to the gut, which doesn’t allow a healthy microbiome. A good app to help you learn to meditate and relax is headspace.  
4 – Eat Foods with Fiber: Good fiber helps feed the good bacteria and keeps them healthy. Vegetables, fruits, psyllium, flax, inulin and other fibers also help keep good flora and proper balance of short chain fatty acids in the intestines. 
5 – Eat Probiotic Foods: While the French study mentioned above used a supplement, there are also many wonderful natural foods full of probiotics. These include natto (a traditional Japanese fermented food), kim chi (Korean style cabbage), sauerkraut, yogurt, kefir, tempeh, fermented milk (like buttermilk), miso, and non-baked cheeses (like aged cheese). Homemade sauerkraut is better than store bought, for the store bought stuff is pasteurized, which kills some of the good probiotics. To read more on how  fermented food heals the gut, read here. 
6 – Get tested for a probiotic supplement: A good quality probiotic should contain at least Lactobacillus and Bifidus bacteria. There are a number of good ones on the market and some that are poorly made, so it is best to get muscle tested to figure out which one you specifically need.  I have about 6 different ones in the office to cover a variety of different types of situations.  Also make sure your probiotic doesn't have any binders, fillers, milk products, or corn.  Sometimes people feel worse after taking a probiotic because the body needs to detox or kill bad gut flora first and so adding healthy gut flora to the body is overwhelming.  If that has happened to you it is best to first do cleansing program with a healthcare practitioner.  We also test to see if a prebiotic is needed along with a probiotic.  A prebiotic helps the good bacteria grow so the gut can maintain the good bacteria on it's own which is what you want in the long run.  

To learn more on what to do to have better gut health read here.