“The Gut-brain Connection Is Powerful”

The Dr. Emeran Mayer is one of the world ‘s leading experts in communications between brain and digestive system, investigates the effect of different psychophysical techniques and practices them himself. He is a gastroenterologist, professor at the University of California Los Angeles, and co-director of the Digestive Diseases Research Center.

Anxiety or well-being can originate in the digestive system

– It is often said that the digestive system is our second brain.
– And so it is. The gut-brain, mind-body connection is powerful. It seems wonderful to me because it relates our organism with the environment, with the environment in which we live. It connects us. The anxiety or well-being we feel may have its origin in the digestive system. Not to mention the effect of antidepressants …

“What about them?”
-Prozac and others like it may act in the intestine and not in the brain, as is believed. These drugs try to relieve depression by increasing serotonin levels. Most experts consider that extra of this neurotransmitter in the brain is what helps improve mood.

But 95% of the serotonin in the body is found in the digestive system. It could be that these drugs stimulated the production of serotonin in the intestine and changed the chemical signals that are sent by the vagus nerve to the brain.

95% of the serotonin in the body is found in the digestive system.

–The intestine influences the brain, and vice versa?
-Too. We know that the brain influences the mediators of stress in the gut and that causes the microbes that we harbor to change.

– Is there a moment in life when this relationship between brain and intestine is more relevant?
–There are two moments in which bacteria play a more important role. First, during the first months or years of life, which is also when the brain is developing; During this period, for example, the mother’s stress or an infection can affect the child’s microbiota.

And secondly, at the end of life, when neurodegenerative diseases occur, such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s, since the changes in the microbiota and in the intestine begin before the neurological symptoms begin in both diseases.

–What do you usually recommend to your patients with disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome?
–The best thing they can do to take care of their health is to practice some type of meditation, such as mindfulness, also yoga or some stress reduction technique. Also, of course, watch your diet.

If you are a very stressed person and suffer from anxiety, it is very important that you follow a good, balanced diet, rich in vegetables and fruits. It is like a fish that bites its tail: if you feel anxiety, that causes contractions and secretions in the intestine that change the intestinal microbiota and then it produces different metabolites that go to the brain. And so.

The best thing to do for your own health is to practice some type of meditation, such as mindfulness, also yoga or some stress reduction technique.

“A vicious circle!”
– But it can be broken, both above, acting on the brain, and below, doing it on the intestine. Meditation is a great way to do this, and patients love it too. Of course, when the severity of the patient’s condition is higher, we recommend that they follow a cognitive psychological therapy.

Right now we are doing a study to find out if meditation and cognitive therapy modify the community of bacteria in your gut. These are truly fascinating times in medicine!