Tag: digestive issues

How is your gut and brain connected?

Posted on by Arianne Missimer

Have you ever experienced “butterflies in your stomach” before an important presentation or felt your appetite disappear during a stressful situation? Well, you’re not alone. Our gut and brain are closely connected, and this communication is referred to as the gut-brain connection.

In this blog post, we’ll explore how this two-way communication occurs and affects our overall well-being. Specifically, we’ll examine the three primary pathways that connect our gut and brain. So, get ready to learn something new and fascinating about the incredible relationship between our gut and brain!

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Why Understanding the Gut-Brain Connection is Important

Whether you have anxiety, depression, headaches, brain fog, or digestive issues like bloating, diarrhea, constipation, reflux, autoimmune disease, skin issues, or neurodegenerative diseases, we must consider our gut-brain access. This amazing bi-directional communication between our gut and brain is connected through three primary pathways.

Three Pathways That Connect The Gut And The Brain

Pathway 1: Nervous System

The first pathway, the nervous system pathway, is connected via the vagus nerve.

As you may have read in my previous posts, the vagus nerve is our wandering nerve. It is a pair of cranial nerves (10th cranial nerve). It wanders down with branches into the throat, ear, esophagus, lung, heart, and entire digestive tract. The vagus nerve is also 80% of our parasympathetic system, which connects our gut and brain. It is one of the best visual representations of this connection.

Therefore, whether we think about specific health conditions or concerns, we want to understand and appreciate this connection and how we can influence it. For example, we can work on diaphragmatic breathing before we eat to bring ourselves to a parasympathetic state and optimize our gut-brain connection.

Pathway 2: Hormonal

The second pathway is the hormonal connection. We want to think of our neurotransmitters, which are our chemical messengers. The gut bacteria help produce these neurotransmitters, so we need proper nutrient intake for that.

For example, approximately 90 percent of our happiness hormone, serotonin, is in our gut, and around 50 percent of our dopamine is also there.

GABA, which inhibits anxiety and fear, is also in our gut. Therefore, to optimize brain health, we can address our gut. Gut dysbiosis, for example, will likely contribute to health conditions that may include but not be limited to anxiety and depression.

Pathway 3: Immune System

The third pathway is the immune connection. Seventy percent of the immune system is in our gut, which is called GALT (gut-associated lymphoid tissue).

We want to consider that if there is inflammation in the gut from food sensitivities and allergies, parasitic infections, pathogenic infections, leaky gut, or IBS/inflammatory bowel disease, this can cause systemic or excessive inflammation.

If we have inflammation in the gut and the lymphoid tissue, which is 70% of our entire immune system, it can ultimately affect everything in our body, especially the gut-brain connection.

The Bottom Line

If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve seen others about the gut-brain connection. I hope that this information has been useful and that you find the topic as fascinating as I do.

If you enjoyed this post, please give it a like, share it with your friends, and subscribe to our YouTube channel, The Movement Paradigm, for more weekly tips on mindset, nutrition, and movement.

If you’re looking for support on your health journey, we’re here to help! Feel free to reach out to us for a discovery session.

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What is SIBO?| Is this the cause of your digestive issues?

Posted on by Arianne Missimer

Have you heard about SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) or perhaps you’ve been diagnosed with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) but you don’t know what to do about it? You may be wondering  if this is the cause of your digestive issues? Is this what’s making you feel so terrible? Let’s start by saying that SIBO is very complex and there is not one easy roadmap to treat SIBO. It is really important to understand what it is, the anatomy behind it, the risk factors, some of the symptoms that you could experience, and most importantly, the underlying causes. SIBO is exactly what it sounds like, an overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine. It is not necessarily an imbalance between the good and bad bacteria, although it can be pathogenic, it is in essence, an overgrowth. The small intestine is meant for digestion and absorption of nutrients, where the large intestine is meant to house our beneficial bacteria. When we have a backflow of this bacteria into the small intestine, that’s when we can begin to overpopulate and have an overgrowth.

Let’s go over some brief functional anatomy so that you understand what’s happening. When you start chewing your food, you produce salivary enzymes to help begin the digestive process. The food is then passed through our esophagus, i.e. the food pipe, into the stomach. The stomach begins to produce hydrochloric acid (HCL) to break down the food even further. We have our gallbladder that releases bile to help break down the food moving into the small intestine. Our pancreas is also releasing enzymes to help further break down this food. Once the food moves into the small intestine which is 18 to 25 feet long, so it’s not small, digestion and absorption of nutrients occurs. The small intestine connect into our large intestine. There’s an ileocecal valve that prevents any backflow. From here, we then move the food into our rectum for waste removal. We can think of the large intestine as the house for the good bacteria and our storage for waste and excretion.

What symptoms can you have with SIBO?

One of the most frequent complaints is bloating. This is when the gases build-up from the bacteria eating the food. When the gas is releases, it causes pressure or distension in the abdomen. The small intestine is not made for any kind of buildup. When this buildup occurs and we’re not able to process it or digest it properly, this is when you can begin to have symptoms of nausea and acid reflux. The other two symptoms that are very common are constipation and/or diarrhea. You may have both and it could be alternating, or you could gravitate more towards one or the other. This can often be referred to as SIBO-C or SIBO-D. In addition to all the common digestive complaints associated with SIBO such as constipation, diarrhea, acid reflux, cramping, and abdominal pain, you can also have other health issues. This can range from skin issues to significant fatigue to anxiety or depression, and the list goes on.

What are the risk factors for SIBO?

1. Disease states. That can be an autoimmune disease or any other chronic disease that can be a driving factor.

2. Surgery. Specifically abdominal surgeries that create adhesions from scar tissue. This can impact the motility of the small intestine.

3. Medications. This can be any kind of pharmaceutical drugs or antibiotics that you may have been taking, chemotherapy, etc. All of these can drive SIBO.

Now, what are the underlying causes of SIBO?

This is often much more difficult to figure out, and sometimes requires a lot of investigation. The underlying cause essentially is when the system fails. When this protection mode and the normal process of digestion is not happening the way that it should. This can happen for various reasons.

1. If we do not have the appropriate amount of stomach acid in the stomach to be able to begin to break down food properly.

2. If there is an enzyme deficiency, which means that you do not have the capability of being able to break down food and absorb the nutrients.

3. The immune system. Seventy percent of the immune system is in our gut specifically in the gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT). You can appreciate that if this system begins to fail and our immune system becomes more heightened, this can be an underlying cause of SIBO.

If you have IBS or have chronic digestive issues, you may look into this as a possible cause. You can get tested for SIBO here.

If you need help on your journey to better health, contact drarianne@staging.movementparadigm.flywheelsites.com to schedule a FREE 15 minute virtual consultation.

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