Fit to Print Volume 25 Issue 1 March 2016 | Page 5

Health Coach

by Dr. Donna Brown

It’s Not All In Your Head
What’s Troubling Your Mind Started In Your Gut
roughly 10% human cells and 90%
bacterial and viral cells. So the
human cells are really outnumbered
in our very own bodies! However,
that difference is small when
compared to the volume of genetic
material we have in the human cells
versus the bacterial and viral cells.
They outnumber our genetics by
about 150 to 1! This ratio is the
primary reason that microbial
genetics have such a profound effect
on our health. Considering the
volume of microbial genetics is only

I

'm depressed. I'm anxious. I'm
nervous. Does this sound like you? If
this is something you are feeling you
are not alone. Many people in today's
modern world feel the same way. Often
they are given a prescription
medication that helps them deal with
the symptoms. Sometimes they are
given more than one. Many selfmedicate with drugs and alcohol to
ease the pain these feelings can cause.
But still they struggle. Sadly we see
this not just in our adult population.
Many young children also struggle with
the same mood disorders. In my
practice, I see an ever-increasing
amount of patients on some type of
anti-depressants and anti-anxiety
medication. It has become
commonplace. So what is causing this
ever-deepening problem? Could the
answer lie in our gut of all places?
Well, it very well may.
There is currently a huge amount of
interest and study in the area of the
gut and how it relates to our mood and
our mental health in general. It all
centers around what is called the gut
microbiome. The microbiome refers to
the bacteria in our colon and the
genetic material that they contain.
Remarkably, the genetics of these
bacteria greatly influence our own
state of health, including our mental
health. In our entire body, there are

“Remarkably, the genetics
of our gut bacteria greatly
influence our own state of
health, including our
mental health.”

half of the equation. The kind of
bacteria that inhabit our colon are
also incredibly important for the
genetic material they contain. A
symbiotic relationship has evolved
between them and us, and we rely on
these bacteria to produce many
substances that are vital to the
central nervous system function. For
example, they produce B vitamins
which have a direct impact on our
brain and nervous system, and they
also produce a large number of
neurotransmitters. These
neurotransmitters are the chemical
messengers that bind onto cells in
our brain that affect our mood, our
concentration, and even our sleep.
Our gut bacteria also secrete
proteins and enzymes that can have a
profound effect on human health and
human behavior. In one of many
studies performed, individuals were
given probiotics for about four
weeks. Then they were given
functional MRI's, which basically
measure the brain at work. In the
Spring 2016 FIT to Print

area that controls the central
processing of emotions, there was a
substantial change seen in the study.
The patients were able to deal with
stressful situations better. This study
demonstrates that introducing
probiotics to the diet had a positive
effect on our processing of emotion.
Think about that - perhaps there is
something profound behind familiar
sayings such as "gut instinct" or "gut
reaction." As study after study has
shown, the gut-brain linkage is real and
impactful.
The problem we have is that for the
great majority of us, our probiotic
bacteria are in very bad shape. They
are continuously being killed off by our
sugar laden diets and constant stress.
Cortisol, produced when the body or
mind is under stress, is a major killer of
our gut bacteria. The result is a lack of
neurotransmitters that, again, are vital
to many brain functions, including our
mood and our ability to deal with
stressful situations. So a vicious cycle is
initiated, something that is all too
familiar in these symbiotic bio-systems.
Excess stress kills off the very gut
bacteria we need to cope with...stress!
How do we fix this problem? We need
to work toward cleaning up our diets cutting back on sugar, processed grains
and other foods that damage the
quantity and balance of our gut
bacteria. It is also critical to
reintroduce beneficial