The Road to Health is Paved With Good Intestines

Dr. Michael Gershon wrote a book about the gastrointestinal system called The Second Brain. I tend to see it the same way. The gastrointestinal tract as an organ is really so important that it has its own nervous system. It’s amazing to discover that there are a hundred million neurons in the gut––more than in the spinal cord or even the peripheral nervous system! So the gut actually controls functions independently of the brain. However, I also believe that your digestion affects the way your brain works; it is influenced by the nerves in our gut. I’m sure you’ve had periods where you felt butterflies in your stomach––that’s a typical stress response. There are also cases where indigestion produces nightmares or anxiety. Moreover, people who use antidepressants often have gastrointestinal problems like nausea and vomiting, diarrhea or constipation. 

In fact, "Irritable Bowel Syndrome,"––something that we've heard quite a bit about in the last decade –– is often nothing more than a gut reaction to some other problem. For example, in my own practice, I have quite often found a connection between IBS and psycho-emotional health in those I have treated. Interestingly, 95% of serotonin –– the happy neurotransmitter –– is actually found in the bowels –– that is good reason to believe that if you take better care of your gut, your gut will take care of you! Of course, one step towards better gastrointestinal health is to pay closer attention to your diet. The ancients believed that the seed of emotion, which we call the heart, was actually in the bowels. So, perhaps Romeo's love letter to Juliet should have said, "You Move Me," rather than "I Love You!".

All jokes aside, attention to your gastrointestinal health is essential. This includes monitoring your reactions to food and paying attention to food allergies. There are several allergy pathways. There’s an IgG and an IgE pathway. With IgE, your histamine is immediately released and it is clear that you have had an allergic reaction. In contrast, an IgG is a delayed sensitivity reaction that may last up to 72 hours. If, for example, you have an apple today and you start sneezing two days from now, there’s no way you’re going to put two and two together. There is a IgG Food Sensitivity Test that we have been using for many years in our office that can help you find out what sort of food sensitivities you have. Delayed sensitivity reactions are very, very important because they produce antibodies in your blood. These antibodies in turn enter your blood stream and contribute to your reactions (symptoms). It is not uncommon to discover that many chronic symptoms just fade away after a certain food has been eliminated from your diet.