How Lifestyle Affects Gastrointestinal Health
Joanna Ransier, Registered Nurse, HealthWalk™ Health Guide
The brain and the gut are intricately entwined. In fact, anyone who has ever felt butterflies in the stomach before giving a speech, taking a test, or a bout of intestinal urgency the night before an important appointment has experienced the actions of the dual nervous systems. Butterflies in the stomach are caused by a surge of stress hormones released by the body in a ‘fight, flight or freeze’ situation. Stress can also over stimulate nerves in the esophagus, causing a feeling of choking. How and what you are thinking dramatically affects what goes on in your bowels. Having a ‘gut feeling’ may not just be a phrase, but a true representation of gut intelligence.
Scientists have begun calling the gut “the second brain”. This second brain is referred to as the enteric nervous system (part of the autonomic nervous system). Both the gut and the brain have chemical messengers called neurotransmitters. In fact, 95% of the body’s serotonin (the brain chemical that many popular antidepressants increase) is located in the gut. Serotonin also acts as a go-between, keeping the brain in the skull up to date with what is happening in the brain below. Such communication is mostly one way, with 90% traveling from the gut to the head. There are actually more nerve cells in the gut than there are in the entire spinal column.
The role of the enteric nervous system is to manage every aspect of digestion, from the esophagus to the stomach, small intestine and colon. The gut monitors pressure. It monitors the progress of digestion. It detects nutrients, and it measures acid and salts. It’s a little chemical lab.
The most interesting part of all is that all this happens without any conscious thought or effort on our part. We don’t need to tell the gut how to digest food; its innate knowledge already knows. That’s the good part. The flip side of the wonderful workings of the gut is that, as mentioned earlier, our thoughts can have an instantaneous and profound effect on the functioning of the gut as well, such as in a sudden shock that activates the ‘flight, fight or freeze’ reaction before we even realize it’s happening.
So, what does all this mean in terms of having a healthy gut? Even though the functioning of the gut is mostly automatic there are some lifestyle habits that, if followed, can support having a ‘happy tummy’.
When, where and how you eat are closely related to how well your intestinal system works or doesn’t work. Skipping breakfast or having irregular meal times not only puts strain on the stomach but also impacts blood sugar equilibrium. A healthy practice is to provide your body with fuel as you start the day. You wouldn’t expect your car to run on empty; don’t expect it of your body. If you’re not accustomed to eating in the morning, try starting with an apple or a handful of raw organic almonds. It doesn’t have to be fancy. If possible, space your meals at regular intervals. No need to be rigid about this, just a gentle awareness of taking time to give yourself some good nourishment to keep your energy up and your stomach in good working order.
Your eating environment is also important. In our fast paced society, we have all probably engaged in desktop or dashboard dining. If the gut is busy accommodating for our stressful lifestyle and you put food into it, it doesn’t know whether to handle the stress or the digestion properly. Handling stress and digesting food require opposite activities of the gut and it will usually opt for handling the stress because it perceives it as life threatening. Have you ever noticed that after eating during a tense conversation, how the food seems to sit like a lump in your stomach? It’s a good idea for gut health to create a peaceful setting so that both you and your stomach are relaxed.
And lastly, how you eat definitely affects the digestion process. We have all developed eating habits and patterns, ranging from finishing a full meal at the speed of light to being slower than slow. Are you the first one finished or always the last to leave the table? Of course, finding the middle ground is always the best. One way to monitor yourself regardless of which side of middle you find yourself, is to chew your food thoroughly and stop when you feel full. Digestion starts in the mouth when the saliva and food are mixed together by chewing. Take the time to really enjoy the flavor and texture of your food and know you are doing your stomach a favor by reducing its workload. It’s a good idea to refrain from using a beverage to help swallow your food. If you find that you are the ‘slow poke’ at the table, you might want to consider checking in with yourself to find out if you are full and just eating because the food is on the plate.
Remember your body is the only one you’ve got. You can’t trade it in for a new one like you can a car. If you take care of it, it will take care of you by gifting you with high level performance and vibrant health. One way to take care of your gastro-intestinal system is to provide it with healthy micro-organisms called probiotics. If you look at the word ‘probiotics’ you will find ‘pro’ meaning ‘to be for’ and ‘bio’ meaning ‘life’. So probiotics are bacteria that help life. They are needed to create a healthy balance in the gut. If you have taken antibiotics, had a bout of constipation or diarrhea, travel a lot, or are experiencing physical or emotional stress, you need to replenish your depleted intestinal flora with probiotics.
You can do this with the HealthWalk’s BioNue™. BioNue™ is a powerful combination of broad spectrum probiotics and the only one on the market which contains Lactobacillus Sporogenes. L Sporogense has recently been found to produce the beneficial lactic acid that improves probiotic shelf life and is able to survive the digestive processes in the stomach and thrive and support the metabolic processes in the intestinal tract. Used according to directions BioNue™ will support you in moving forward on your path to a healthy, well functioning digestive system and vibrant health.