0861 THEBEMED [email protected]

0861 THEBEMED

Thebemed Logo

Accessible Care . Affordable Prices

Thebemed Wellness Cafe’

Trust your gut

Oct 5, 2021 | Flavor Of The Month, The Juice, Thebemed

Thebemed Wellness Cafe’

Trust your gut

If you’ve ever ‘…gone with your gut’ to make a decision, or felt ‘butterflies in your stomach’ when nervous, you’re likely getting signals from an unexpected source: your second brain. Hidden in the walls of the digestive system, this ‘brain in your gut’ is revolutionizing our understanding of the links between digestion, mood, health, and even the way you think.

Unlike the brain in your skull, the brain in your belly can’t generate tricky ‘Excel formulae’ or help you remember where you left your keys, but it does play a central role in whole body communication. The technical name for your belly brain is the enteric nervous system (ENS). It’s technically not in your belly either. It consists of two thin layers of over 100 million nerve cells that line your gastrointestinal tract, all the way from your oesophagus to your rectum.

It’s hard to think that your gut could control how you feel, but once you realise that your gut has the capacity to produce not only the same chemical messengers that your brain does, but also several chemicals that your brain needs, it makes it easier to understand.

Your gut plays host to trillions of different types of good bacteria that make up their own mini ecosystem known as the gut microbiome. Despite what you may have heard, not all bacteria are bad. Good bacteria play a central role in the digestion of food and the absorption of important nutrients. These good gut bacteria also produce hundreds of neurochemicals that the brain uses to regulate basic physiological processes, as well as mental processes such as learning, memory and mood. For example, gut bacteria manufacture about 95% of the body’s supply of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that directly contributes to feelings of happiness.

When you consider this constant communication between your brain and your gut, its clear that the health of your gut goes a bit further than simply ‘keeping you regular’. A growing body of evidence is showing just how important gut health is to mental health. Studies on animals, for example, have shown that a change in gut health correlates to a change in mental health; a plausible explanation as to why those who suffer from gastrointestinal problems, such as IBS and Crohn’s, are also at higher risk for mood disorders. Notice how when you’re stressed, you suffer from stomach pain or constipation? Same theory.

While research into the complexities of the gut-brain axis is ongoing, something we know with certainty is that a healthy diet results in a healthy gut. If a healthy gut has the possibility of improving mental health, then this is a promising avenue to explore.

How to ensure a healthy gut and provide support to your ‘belly brain’:

  1. Ensure your diet includes the following – they have been shown to improve both gut and brain health
    • Omega 3 fatty acids
    • Fermented foods, such as kefir, yoghurt and sauerkraut
    • Nuts, seeds and fresh vegetables
    • Eggs and cheese – these contain tryptophan, which is converted by the gut into the neurotransmitter serotonin.
  2. Eat less sugar
  3. Avoid unnecessary antibiotics
  4. Drink more water
  5. Exercise regularly
  6. Ensure you get sufficient sleep each night

References:

Bacteria: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The gut is more than just a few organs strung together with a small intestine! It is a living eco-system, working 24/7 to keep you healthy. An estimated 100 trillion micro-organisms, representing more than 500 different species, inhabit every normal, healthy gut. A healthy gut bacterial colony, also known as the gut microbiome, has been linked to a reduced risk of several health conditions, including type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and even depression.

Living a healthy lifestyle – exercising, sleeping well, and eating a balanced lifestyle – supports the microbiome and promotes the diversity of the good bacteria that lives there, whereas stress, alcohol, and certain medications all cause harm.

The more diversity of bacteria living in your gut, the better. In addition to supporting the microbiome with a healthy lifestyle, you can also supply your gut with live bacteria in the form of probiotics.

Probiotics are found on every pharmacy shelf, but can just as easily be found in your kitchen. Growing your own probiotics, for example in the form of kefir, is an easy and affordable way of keeping your gut, and the rest of you, healthy. Learn how to do that from the video below, or CLICK HERE to watch.

Latest Posts

How is your resilience?

How is your resilience?

Life keeps throwing us challenges. As we saw with Covid-19, in this globally connected world we are all touched by whatever is happening, no matter how ‘far away’. Resilience is a key quality of those who are best able to respond.

Fully vaccinated? Now what?!

Fully vaccinated? Now what?!

Let’s be clear – there is no quick fix to immediately ‘boost’ your immunity – no ‘wonder supplement’ or ‘power food’ will suddenly strengthen your immune system. However, living a healthy lifestyle does go a long way to keep your immune system strong. This has been found in a recent study showing that exercise may strengthen the antibody response to vaccination – both the COVID-19 vaccines and the annual flu vaccines.

Current News: South Africa and Ukraine

Current News: South Africa and Ukraine

Here in South Africa, there seems to be two active responses on social media to the shock of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. One is a sense of outrage and sadness at the disruption and tragic loss of life. The other seems to be an almost flippant expression of gratitude for being far away ‘down south’ from the conflict zone.

Be mindful while living with cancer

Be mindful while living with cancer

What can those two illustrious South Africans, the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu and ex-President Nelson Mandela teach us about living with cancer?
In 1997 a concerned world heard that the man fondly known as ‘the Arch’, aged 65, had surgery for prostate cancer. A few years later in 2001, we were again shocked to hear that Madiba, aged 83, had also been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

What COVID-19 has taught us about human connection

What COVID-19 has taught us about human connection

One thing we have learned from the COVID-19 pandemic experience is that we are not happy when we are separated from others – loved ones, colleagues and even people we do not know. We like to go to restaurants, coffee shops and just hang around people. Not only do we like it, but the pandemic has also highlighted how we need connection for our mental and emotional wellbeing. Sometimes it seems that it is only when things are taken away, that we learn to appreciate their value and importance.

You May Also Like:

TB awareness – the role of chronic stress and mental health in disease risk

TB awareness – the role of chronic stress and mental health in disease risk

The pandemic has highlighted the idea of a disease being front and center in all aspects of our lives. However, for someone living with a chronic condition, this has been their reality long before COVID-19 came along, and the pandemic has simply made things worse.
Economic, social and psychological distress is common amongst those living with chronic conditions, such as tuberculosis (TB).

read more
Standing up for yourself and others

Standing up for yourself and others

Underlying all human rights is a deep respect for human life. There are those passionate people whose daily lives center around defending and upholding these precious rights so that we can all live in a more caring and just world. Each one of us can take inspiration from this and make choices that demonstrate how our own personal values uphold human rights.

read more