Those Gut Feelings May be the Result of What You Eat
Sturgeon Bay, WI (PRWEB) December 24, 2013 -- It is commonly accepted that a poor diet leads to poor health. Changes in diet also affects the bacteria that grow in the intestinal system, known as the biome. Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin Chiropractor and Naturopath Dr. J G Moellendorf, DC, ND, LCP notes that the average adult has over 100 trillion bacteria from 500 to 1000 species in the intestines that aid digestion and absorption, regulate metabolism, program the immune system, and make certain vitamins and other vital nutrients. Scientists have questioned if a change in the intestinal bacteria also effects the body.
Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles led by Dr. Kirsten Tillisch compared the functional MRI scans of brain structure and function with the types of bacteria found in the intestines of 60 healthy women. The first clues to a brain/gut connection were found in the effects on the connections between various brain regions depending on the dominant species of intestinal bacteria. Co-researcher Dr. Emeran Mayer pointed out that intestinal bacteria may shape the brain’s structure while a child is growing, determining how the brain circuits develop. This could lead to shaping the moods, behaviors, and feelings in adults. Their results, titled Consumption of Fermented Milk Product with Probiotic Modulates Brain Activity, were published in the journal Gastroenterology June 2013.
Researchers led by Stephen Collins of McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario found similar results in mice. Publishing The Adoptive Transfer of Behavioral Phenotype via the Intestinal Microbiota: Experimental Evidence and Clinical Implications in the July 2013 issue of Current Opinion in Microbiology, they found that aggressive mice became calm when antibiotics and probiotics were given to change the species of bacteria in the intestines. Anxious mice became more sociable and less anxious when inoculated with bacteria from the intestines of fearless mice. Bold mice became timid when bacteria from anxious mice were inoculated into them. It was proven that intestinal bacteria had a dramatic effect on the brain and behavior of the mice.
The question is, how does bacteria in the intestines talk with the brain? Researcher John Cryan of the University College—Cork, Ireland suspects that it is through the vagus nerve which connects the brain with the digestive system. When the vagus nerve was severed, the brain would no longer respond to intestinal changes in the mice.
Mark Lyte of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, Texas studies how bacteria affect the hormonal system. Probiotics Function Mechanistically as Delivery Vehicles for Neuroactive Compounds: Microbial Endocrinology in the Design and Use of Probiotics published in the August 2011 issue of Bioessays, notes that intestinal bacteria may modulate the immune system by producing neurotransmitters. His research discovered certain bacteria that produce new neurochemicals not previously researched. To quote Dr. Lyte, “these bacteria are, in effect, mind-altering microorganisms.”
Is there a benefit for humans in all this research? Dr. Paul Patterson at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California has been involved in multiple research projects on mice with behaviors similar to human autism. When changing the species of intestinal bacteria, the mouse behavior was changed to normal. Faith Dickerson at Sheppard Pratt Health System in Baltimore, Maryland has been successfully using probiotics to prevent relapses of mania in patients with bipolar disorder. The ongoing research by Lyte, Patterson, and Dickerson shows promising improvements in serious psychiatric symptoms when changing the intestinal biome.
While the research into the brain/gut connection is still in its early stages, improvements in diet and supplementation with quality probiotics may lead to many health benefits.
Using the latest research findings, Moellendorf Chiropractic Office, Ltd. uses a comprehensive package of Chiropractic care, decompression traction therapy, active therapeutic movement training, cold laser therapy, and nutrition for the natural treatment of neurological conditions, neck and back pain, and other health conditions without drugs or surgery. Additional information about Chiropractic, Naturopathy, and other forms of natural health care has been provided by Moellendorf Chiropractic Office, Ltd. at http://www.all-about-wellness.com.
About: Dr. J G Moellendorf, DC, ND, LCP
Dr. J G Moellendorf, DC, ND, LCP attended the University of Wisconsin—Superior where he majored in Physics and Mathematics, with a minor in art photography. While attending the University of Minnesota—Minneapolis, he assisted in research on ribosomal proteins. Completing his Chiropractic studies at Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa, he graduated Cum Laude (with high honors) in 1983. He started Moellendorf Chiropractic Office, Ltd. in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin in 1983. In 1996, Dr. Moellendorf was awarded his Doctorate in Naturopathy from Trinity School of Natural Health. In 2001, he received Chiropractic’s most prestigious award, the honorary Legion of Chiropractic Philosophers degree, for his thesis “The Workings of Innate Intelligence in Obsessive/Compulsive and Addictive Behaviors.” This paper was chosen for publishing in the book Philosophic Contemplations vol. 2 in 2002. In June of 2012, Dr. Moellendorf authored his first book titled Healthcare’s Best Kept Secret which can be ordered on Amazon. Dr. Moellendorf can be contacted by phone (920) 493-2126, fax (920) 743-1145, email jgmoellendorf(at)itol(dot)com, his website at http://www.all-about-wellness.com, or send a carrier pigeon to 44.84722N and 87.36416W.
Dr. J G Moellendorf, Moellendorf Chiropractic Office, Ltd, http://www.all-about-wellness.com, +1 (920) 493-2126, [email protected]
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