Gut health has been grossly misunderstood and underestimated. There is more activity in your gut than neurons firing in your brain! The link between the gut and the brain, which is being studied in-depth and revealing startling insights, is causing medical practitioners to call the gut the “second brain”. As Dr Axe explains, “See, the gut is home to the enteric nervous system. Separate from the central nervous system, the ENS is made up of two thin layers with more than 100 million nerve cells in them — more than the spinal cord. These cells line the gastrointestinal tract, controlling blood flow and secretions to help the GI tract digest food. They also help us “feel” what’s happening inside the gut, since this second brain is behind the mechanics of food digestion.
While the second brain doesn’t get involved in thought processes like political debates or theological reflection, it does control behavior on its own. Researchers believe this came about to make digestion more efficient in the body; instead of having to “direct” digestion through the spinal cord and into the brain and back, we developed an on-site brain that could handle things closer to the source. But because this second brain is so complex, scientists aren’t convinced that it was designed as just a way to aid in digestion. So while it isn’t capable of thoughts, it does “talk” to the brain in major ways.”
This second brain contributes to our mood and feelings of wellness as the gut controls the release of our stress hormone, Cortisol. Over long periods of time, this leads to the development of inflammation and its accompanying detrimental set of conditions, including weight gain, anxiety, depression and autoimmune disease, to name but a few.
Autism, ADHD and other behavioral conditions are being recognized not only as mental disorders but in fact as a gut condition which is out of balance. The Standard American Diet (which indeed is SAD) has adversely affected all facets of great health and influences our behavior and that of our children on a daily basis. Artificial sweeteners wreak havoc on our guts as they destroy the rain forest of microbes in our GI tracts. The chlorine in our swimming pools has a detrimental effect on the essential, healthy microbes in our gut. Internal bacterial dysbiosis, which is defined as a microbial imbalance, allows “bugs” to thrive and multiply in our guts and other essential organs. This condition is being found more and more often in children. The effect on the gut is far reaching but the effect on the brain is devastating.
Can we afford to carry on letting our children eat and drink with no thought of the long term consequences?
Can we afford to allow society to dictate what is acceptable in our lunch boxes?
Can we afford to blindly place our children on chemicals to control them when the solution may be as simple as cutting out sugar or gluten?
Can we afford not to sit up and take note of the old adage that says, “You are what you eat!”
Can we afford not to supplement our sterile diets with Gut Rescue?
Can you truly imagine it?