Originally published October 7 2011
Second Brain - Manage your gut and gut flora
by Paul Fassa
(NaturalNews) Your mind is your most important asset, but it can become your worst enemy. And your gut may be your most important organ when it comes to mental health. The awareness of intestinal flora deficiencies as the root causes of a wide spectrum of mental problems is constantly expanding. The gut is often called the "second brain". This is something you can easily manage.
Gut flora importance
Gut flora is the term for micro-organisms that live in the gastrointestinal tract. There are 100 trillion of them compared to our 10 trillion cells. If the intestines were opened and spread out to expose their inner linings, they would cover a tennis court.
We have a symbiotic relationship with all these friendly bacteria that cover so much territory. Not only do they deter invading pathogens or kill some of the bad guys, but they also signal other aspects of our immune system in other parts of our bodies. That colony of helpful bacteria is sometimes called our "forgotten organ."
The relationship of friendly gut flora to pathogenic bacteria needs to be rather lopsided, around 85% good guys to 15% bad guys. When it goes the other way, all sorts of physical and mental problems arise.
Mentally, disorders ranging from ADD to autism in children and depression to mental fogginess in adults have been connected to intestinal flora imbalances that create inflammation of the gut and elsewhere. This is known as the "gut-brain axis".
Physically, a gut flora imbalance allows pathogenic bacteria and fungi to infect our bodies. Candida yeast overgrowth occurs, and guess what, people with Candida suffer from fatigue and depression. It's established: there is at least a symbiotic relationship between Candida and cancer.
Gut inflammation, even Crohn's Disease, has been connected to depression in adults and autistic symptoms with children. Dr. Andrew Wakefield and others have pioneered research in those areas.
Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride has gone a step further and has actually cured autism and other mental and physical problems by restoring the intestinal flora balance through mostly dietary changes.
Controlling what we can control
There are many environmental and dietary issues that kill our friendly bacteria. The whole idea of killing bacteria has been overdone in our culture. Pasteurization, irradiation, processed foods and sugar are the main culprits.
Obviously, eliminating those affected foods and engaging in a daily habit of whole, organic foods is vital. This dietary and lifestyle change takes progressively steady effort and vigilance, which is assisted by following Natural News and other real health sites.
Medications, especially antidepressants and antibiotics, are the enemies of your friendly bacteria. GMOs wreak havoc on friendly bacteria too. Even if you don't take medications and antibiotics or eat GMO food overtly, they have all surreptitiously invaded our food chain through other sources.
So it's important to maintain a steady supply of probiotics in your kitchen. Fermented foods, such as sauerkraut, kim-chi, or miso, are good to have around. Water or milk kefirs are great. It's much better to make your own of either or both to consume daily. Commercially sold kefirs and yogurts don't cut it, really. (Source below)
But there are several good probiotic supplements on the market. They're important to add if you've been through serious stress, are struggling with Candida, or forced into medications, especially antibiotics. Try the ones with the highest amount of bacteria and the most strains.
Intensely probiotic foods and occasional probiotic supplements should be an essential part of our health regimen. Our kill all bacteria culture can't differentiate between the good guys and the bad guys. We have to do it ourselves.
Sources for this article include:
Making your own probiotic kefirs http://www.naturalnews.com/027554_kefir_water_grains.html AND http://www.yourkefirsource.com/how-to-make-kefir/kefir-milk-kefir
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gut_flora
http://www.naturalnews.com/033094_gut_health_brain.html
About the author:
Paul Fassa is dedicated to warning others about the current corruption of food and medicine and guiding them towards direction for better health with no restrictions on health freedom.
You can check out his many non-compromising cutting edge, non-fluff articles here http://www.naturalnews.com/Author712.html
And you can visit his blog at http://healthmaven.blogspot.com
Paul Fassa is dedicated to warning others about the current corruption of food and medicine and guiding them towards direction for better health with no restrictions on health freedom.
You can check out his many non-compromising cutting edge, non-fluff articles here http://www.naturalnews.com/Author712.html
And you can visit his blog at http://healthmaven.blogspot.com
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