It’s not for nothing that our gut is sometimes called the ‘second brain’. Your head and abdomen are directly connected by an important nervous system. And who knows that, can benefit from it.
For years Anne (37) had enormous problems with her stomach and intestines. “Especially during the week, they felt painful, tense and bloated,” she says. “Sometimes I got up with it, other times it came on during the day. More than once I’ve been to the doctor about it, but other than prescribing relief drugs, he couldn’t do much about it. That’s why I tried everything myself, such as special diets to find out if I sometimes had a food intolerance. Or I stopped drinking cappuccino from the machine at work, thinking that the powdered milk it was made with might be the culprit. But my experiments never yielded anything.”
Until the pandemic hit, which made Anne decide to move in with her boyfriend and start working from home. As a result, a lot less stress in her life. “Preoccupied by corona, I didn’t notice it that much in the beginning. But after a while I suddenly realized that I had not been bothered for a long time. I could never imagine the connection between stomach and head, but I am now convinced that it exists.”
Doctors call it dysbiosis: an imbalance of gut bacteria. They distinguish three types.
• Antibiotics kill bad bacteria, but also kill the good ones. And sometimes that gives other bad bacteria a chance to thrive. This leads to an intestinal flora in which pathogenic microbes rule.
• In the case of chronic intestinal inflammation, for example, there is mainly a shortage of good bacteria.
• There may also be too little diversity of gut bacteria. That is a condition that is common in the western world with all its processed food.
second brain
Anne’s conviction is certainly not a strange assumption. Your brain and gut are indeed connected by a long nerve. The so-called ‘vagus nerve’ starts in the brain and winds down the neck, chest and esophagus, where it branches off towards the intestines. There it connects with the enteric nervous system. This is the independently operating nervous system of the gut, a network of millions of interconnected nerve cells that are comparable in shape and function to the brain. On its own it regulates, for example, the blood flow, the permeability of the intestinal wall and the secretion of intestinal juices. Just like the movements that cause food to be kneaded, digested and eventually moved out as stool. The enteric nervous system sends information about all these processes to the brain via the vagus nerve.
The intestinal nerve cells also produce messenger substances, even more than thirty, to communicate with the head. Such as serotonin and dopamine, both substances that are also known as happiness hormones and give a happy, good feeling. And for example cholecystokinin, which tells the brain that we are full and therefore do not have to brag again. Furthermore, there is gamma-aminobutyric acid, which acts as a tranquilizer. It is therefore not surprising that the intestines are sometimes referred to as our ‘second brain’.
Mindfulness and Hypnosis
Heske (41) walked around for more than thirty years with a hard, painful and swollen abdomen. As a result, she was also mentally unwell. Until she was introduced to mindfulness. “I had already tried everything to get rid of my complaints, such as different diets. Unfortunately without success. But meditation works almost instantly. I lie down and then do a body scan: that means that in twenty minutes I will move my entire body from top to bottom with my attention. With my stomach I think about what I feel, sometimes I visualize it too, and then let that feeling be there without judgment. That neutral observation showed me that there was an emotional lump in my gut, which I eventually managed to work through with therapy. But just consciously reflecting on the feeling without labeling it as pain made a huge difference.” As a hypnotherapist, Heske knows, and science has all kinds of evidence for that finding, that hypnosis also helps with intestinal complaints. “I’m completely done with it now.”
Good and bad gut bacteria
The trillions of bacteria in the gut participate in the conversation between the stomach and the head. Some of these – researchers recently discovered that the so-called ‘gut microbiome’ is made up of as many as 160 different bacterial species – are naturally at home in the gut and do a good job. They promote digestion and strengthen your immune system. Others, which usually hitchhike in with food, actually make you sick and cause inflammation, intolerances and diarrhea. All those gut bacteria also communicate with the brain. Because via the vagus nerve and the hormones and messenger substances they secrete, they send all kinds of signals to the upper chamber. Such as cytokines in the case of inflammation: hormones that not only activate the immune system, but also let the brain know that something is not right, so that it can react with, for example, pain or fatigue.
Conversely, the brain also sends messages to the abdomen. The vagus nerve is connected to the insula. In addition to hunger, nausea and satiety, this brain area also controls our emotions and is associated with psychological disorders such as depression, addictive behavior and anxiety disorders. And when the amygdala, another brain center, senses danger or tension, the distress signal sent on it does not leave the intestines untouched: they immediately react with a restless feeling.
Pro- and prebiotics
Did you know that eighty percent of the immune system resides in the gut? A healthy intestinal flora is therefore indispensable for good health. The gut microbiome benefits from the following foods:
Probiotics: these are good gut bacteria, such as bifidobacteria and lactobacilli. They are in fermented foods. In yogurt, kefir, cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, pickled gherkins, sauerkraut and apple cider vinegar, for example.
Prebiotics: fiber is an excellent food source for the good bacteria. Vegetables, white beans, peas, chickpeas, flaxseed, pumpkin, figs, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, oat flakes, fruits and nuts contain many such fiber.
Fructooligosaccharides: these are substances that regulate the immune system. They are found in endive, artichokes, onions, garlic, berries, broccoli and fennel.
Miscommunication
It is not surprising that in a system with so many cogs, things can go wrong. Sometimes the gut sends stronger signals than normal to the brain, or the brain sends wrong or too strong messages to the gut. The information from the head may not arrive correctly in the abdomen, or the head may misinterpret the information from the abdomen. In any case, such communication disorders can lead to all kinds of ailments. Much remains to be done, but it is suspected that a disturbed gut-brain connection may have something to do with obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Scientists also think there may be a link with autism, Alzheimer’s, post-traumatic stress disorder, dementia, depression and MS. For example, children with autism, studies show, lack specific gut bacteria. And people with intestinal problems are one and a half times more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression than healthy people.
black cloud
Wia (48) experienced the latter firsthand. “I’ve had what doctors call irritable bowel syndrome since I was 24,” she says. “I had a chafing feeling in my stomach all the time and was constantly having diarrhea. A few years ago, when I could no longer walk because of the pain, my bowels were rinsed clean. That ended the diarrhea, but it also felt like a painful, burning wound. Moreover, I suddenly found myself in a black cloud: I no longer felt like doing anything and did not like anything anymore, while I was happy with my life. Then I started taking probiotics. And very gradually, it took a year, the wound healed. My stools got better, the pain disappeared and so did the gloom.”
Belly as culprit?
There is increasing evidence that the cause of certain diseases may lie in the gut.
• In the case of Parkinson’s disease, more and more brain cells die in a brain network. Recent research now shows that long before the disease manifests itself, the intestinal nervous system is already disturbed.
• Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune disease. Studies indicate that the gut flora of MS patients is out of balance.
• Overweight people have relatively many bacteria of the bacteroides species. They are known for getting more energy from nutrients, which can lead to extra pounds. In addition, obesity appears to be associated with a less diverse bacterial composition in the gut.
Pills, food, shit
Probiotics can indeed be a solution for intestinal complaints. Because these health-promoting bacteria, which can be found in yogurt and sauerkraut, for example, and which are also available as pills, can improve the gut microbiome. Wia also changed her diet. She got rid of the packets and sachets, switched from white grain products to the whole grain versions and makes sure she gets enough fiber by eating lots of vegetables, fruit and legumes. Sometimes people with intestinal complaints also benefit from a so-called faecal transplant. In addition, the intestines are supplied with good bacteria through the introduction of foreign faeces.
Stress in your stomach
The abdomen and head are connected by the vagus nerve. That nerve has a brother, the sympathetic nerve, which reacts to stimuli and dangers from outside. In such a stressful situation, the sympathetic muscle takes over to protect the body against the threat. In itself a good reaction of course, only the intestines are the victims. Because the dominance of the sympathetic nerve hinders the vagus nerve in its functioning. And that can cause digestive complaints, abdominal pain, nausea, constipation and diarrhea. If the sympathetic muscle is often in action, unfavorable changes in the composition of the intestinal flora also occur. It is therefore not surprising that stress often affects the stomach.
But the tricky part is that it is impossible to say what will affect whom. The intestines differ from person to person due to, among other things, heredity, age, nutrition and medication. And how the head functions is also different for everyone. What works for one person does nothing for another and vice versa.
Nevertheless, the insight that both can play a role is useful. In the case of depression, this offers the opportunity, for example, to check how healthy the abdomen is. And to consider the state of the mind in case of intestinal problems. In any case, Anne is complaint-free to this day. “The safe security of living together and the peace of mind of working from home, away from the office garden with all those stimuli and bustle, have ensured that my bowels have also calmed down, without dieting or new eating habits.” Wia is still doing very well: “After years of worrying, I now feel in top condition, both mentally and physically.”
- Read more The Swiss doctor Gregor Hasler collected in the book The gut-brain connection (€ 21.95, Uitgeverij Nieuwezijds) the latest insights into the relationship between mental and physical health.