{"id":23468,"date":"2014-10-08T09:00:23","date_gmt":"2014-10-08T13:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=23468"},"modified":"2014-10-07T16:12:44","modified_gmt":"2014-10-07T20:12:44","slug":"trust-your-gut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=23468","title":{"rendered":"Trust your gut"},"content":{"rendered":"

The bacteria in your stomach helps to keep you healthy<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

By Dr. Matthew Lapp<\/strong>, Columnist, The Times<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"CTColLogoMattLapp\"<\/a>Have you ever had that sinking feeling in your stomach, as if something big were about to happen? How about the last time you saw someone you love, or someone you don\u2019t?\u00a0 Those butterflies that were trying to get out were examples of the affect that our gut can have on our state of mind, or our intuition, about our situation.<\/p>\n

Did you know that the digestive system has more neurons than the nervous system?\u00a0 In fact, the enteric nervous system, has over one hundred million neurons, uses more than\u00a0 30 neurotransmitters, and can operate independently of the brain and nervous system.\u00a0 This has led scientists to dub it \u201cthe second brain.\u201d\u00a0 In addition, 95% of the body\u2019s serotonin is found in the gut and over 50% of our body\u2019s dopamine is found there as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Both of these chemicals are major influencers of our mood and well-being, thus, many studies are now aiming to figure out how the gut may influence our overall state of mind and disposition.\u00a0 A new field of study has even emerged, called neurogastroenterology.\u00a0 (Say that five times fast…)\u00a0 For example, one common treatment for depression is to prescribe selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).\u00a0 These drugs work by keeping more serotonin circulating in the blood, thereby allowing more to reach the brain and improve mood.\u00a0 Since a large majority of serotonin is usually stored in the gut, these drugs often have a detrimental affect on the GI system.<\/p>\n

Our gut is also home to trillions of bacteria.\u00a0 Some of this bacteria can be harmful to us (think e.coli), but the majority of the bacteria is actually beneficial to a host of other systems including our nervous system, immune system, and our mood.\u00a0 In 2008, the Human Microbiome Project was launched to catalogue all of the bacteria found in the gut and all around our bodies.\u00a0 Since then, major discoveries have been made with regard to the huge network of bacteria living in and on us at all time.\u00a0 The most striking finding has been that the bacteria are actually necessary for us to live at our best.\u00a0 In fact, over 70% of our overall immune response can be credited to the gut and the bacteria living there.\u00a0 And, when certain bacteria aren\u2019t present, we may suffer from various illnesses or poor health.<\/p>\n

One example is that of autism.\u00a0 Many studies have confirmed that people with autism almost always have altered gut flora and inflammatory digestive systems.\u00a0 One doctor, Natasha Campbell-McBride calls this Gut and Physiology Syndrome (GAPS) and has created a nutrition program aimed at counteracting some of this inflammation in order to restore or improve proper gut function.\u00a0 Many people, all over the world have benefited as a result.<\/p>\n

In addition, researchers have traced issues like ADD\/ADHD, dyslexia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, asthma, allergies, autoimmune disorders, eczema, and even osteoporosis back to issues with gut bacteria.<\/p>\n

The good news is that we can actually improve our digestive health and thereby improve the bacterial composition of our digestive system and body as a whole.\u00a0 Our diets are a major influencer, and typical components of a \u201cWestern Diet\u201d i.e. fast food, high carbohydrates, high sugar, highly processed foods are all deterrents of good bacterial growth and optimal digestive health.\u00a0 Instead, choosing foods that are higher in fiber, contain live cultures (like yogurt and fermented foods), and eating a good variety of food can all improve overall gut health.<\/p>\n

Some people choose to take a probiotic supplement, a dosage of bacteria in pill or liquid form, to get their good bacteria.\u00a0 This can be very helpful for rebuilding the gut bacteria, especially if you\u2019ve taken any antibiotics recently.\u00a0 But, some studies have shown that eating \u201clive\u201d foods, like saurkraut, kimchi, and other fermented foods actually have a wider variety of beneficial bacteria and may be a more cost-effective method of getting your daily dosage.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s especially important for mothers who are expecting or who are breastfeeding to make sure they are getting plenty of good bacteria and maintaining a healthy microbiome since the baby\u2019s first exposure to bacteria will come from the mother via the birth canal.\u00a0 The entire immune system is built upon this foundation, so it\u2019s important to get a good start!<\/p>\n

Although there are many chemicals, toxins, and challenges we may face on a daily basis, we have an opportunity every day to improve our mood, our immune system, and our overall state of well-being by improving the relationship we have with our gut and our microbiome.\u00a0 By doing so, we may just ensure a happier, healthier life for years to come.<\/p>\n

Drs. Allison and Matthew Lapp are the owners of Salus Chiropractic Studio in Thorndale. For more tips on living a health, happy life, visit them on Facebook at <\/i>https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SalusChiropracticStudio<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The bacteria in your stomach helps to keep you healthy By Dr. Matthew Lapp, Columnist, The Times Have you ever had that sinking feeling in your stomach, as if something big were about to happen? How about the last time you saw someone you love, or someone you don\u2019t?\u00a0 Those butterflies that were trying to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,403],"tags":[553,610,6216],"class_list":["post-23468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-health","tag-bacteria","tag-health-2","tag-stomach"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23468"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23468\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23469,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23468\/revisions\/23469"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/23467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}