The Link Between Gut and Brain: How What's Living in Your Gut can Affect Your Thoughts and Emotions

The Link Between Gut and Brain: How What's Living in Your Gut can Affect Your Thoughts and Emotions

The idea that the microflora living in the gut can affect a person's health is not revolutionary. They have been shown to cause irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, as well as other autoimmune disorders. Recently, however, scientists and doctors have begun linking these bacteria back to the brain as well. Their findings are showing that our gut microbiome plays a crucial role in anxiety, depression, autism, and neurodegenerative disorders as well. 

The average human has about 100 trillion (or three pounds) worth of bacteria living in their gut. Most of these are very beneficial to us and help us to break down the food we eat, absorb certain nutrients, and even make nutrients by themselves! Sometimes, though, our guts start being overrun by pathogenic, or bad bacteria. These bacteria create toxins, known as metabolites, that can travel through the blood and hypothesized to travel through the vagal nerve back to the brain. Once in the brain, these metabolites can alter messenger activity considerably. They affect which neurotransmitters (the messengers) are made and whether or not these neurotransmitters travel to where they're supposed to go. Through treatment using prebiotics, probiotics, and altered food habits, it was found that subjects had a decrease in cortisol levels (the stress hormone), depression, anxiety, and were more able to focus on positive thoughts and things rather than the negative ones. 

Psychobiotics in the gut-brain axis: in the pursuit of happiness

The effects of gut microbiota on CNS function in humans

Bacterial influence on the brain doesn't just stop at neurological disorders though. They can even influence our everyday activities such as the ability to learn, memory formation, emotional arousal, affective behaviors, and decision making processes. The more bad bacteria we harbor, the higher the toxin levels are in our bodies and brains, the more our immune systems have to work and cause us to fatigue, and the more inflammatory our bodies become.

Collective unconscious: How gut microbes shape human behavior

However, there are definitely steps that can be taken to prevent this and reverse this. Prebiotics and probiotics can be very beneficial to most people. It's important to determine whether or not you should be on one in the first place and whether or not it is a good brand. Some people have too much bacteria (even if it's good) in their gut already. Before taking a prebiotic or probiotic, some form of bacterial eradication should be done first. This can be anything to cutting out all sugars for a few weeks, ingesting certain herbs, and in some cases, the administration of antibiotics. Also, an organic acids test can be used to analyze the metabolites excreted in the urine so that your doctor knows exactly which species is too high. Some of these tests will also tell you which herb or antiobiotic should be used to eradicate that species.

It's amazing how much our gut affects the way we think and perceive the world. The saying "follow your gut" has never been taken more literally! If you know someone who is suffering from depression, anxiety, or another neurological condition, please pass on this information. Functional medicine doctors can be found in every state and working with one first hand can be life changing for people suffering from these conditions. 

Why people are giving up dairy (and why you should be joining them)

Why people are giving up dairy

(and why you should be joining them)

Over 75% of the population does not have the enzymes needed to break down large quantities of dairy, such as a glass of milk, after the age of 5.

•From an evolutionary point of view, milk is somewhat of a strange food for humans and we have only been trying to consume it from other animals for about 5,000-7,000 years. This may seem like a long time, but modern humans as we know ourselves have been around for at least 150,000 years.

•Our bodies stop producing significant amounts of lactase, the enzyme needed to breakdown certain milk sugars, between the ages of 2 and 5.

•Most mammals stop producing the enzymes needed to digest and metabolize milk after it has been weaned, and they never touch milk again.

•The milk we drink today is very different than the milk we drank even 100 years ago.

Isn’t dairy supposed to make our bones healthy though?

The myth: Calcium is needed to help build strong bones and dairy is full of calcium, therefore, dairy builds strong bones and is good for you.

The facts: It is true that dairy contains a lot of calcium, around 300 milligrams in fact, so it is easy to see where the confusion comes from. However, studies show that people who drink milk actually have higher rates of fractures, osteoporosis, cancer, inflammatory markers, and are more likely to die at a younger age. A study done in Sweden following over 100,000 people for 20 years agreed with the others as well as adding cardiovascular disease and other chronic illnesses into the mix.

How is dairy causing weaker bones?

First off, not all calcium is absorbed the same. Calcium from dairy has only about a 32% absorption rate, whereas most vegetables have over a 50% calcium absorption rate.

Secondly, dairy is animal protein, and like all animal proteins, it causes the body to become more acidic. Our bodies can’t last long in too acidic of states and must work to somehow neutralize it. Calcium is the main acid neutralizer, and the biggest stores of calcium are in the bones. When we ingest dairy, calcium is actually pulled out of the bones and into the blood stream, and from there it is excreted into the urine. So surprisingly, the end net result is actually a calcium deficit.

Countries with the lowest consumption of dairy products also have the lowest rates of fractures and osteoporosis.

What health issues are caused by dairy?

•Upset Stomach

•Irritable Bowel Syndrome

•Headaches

•Acne

•Fatigue

•Leaky Gut

•Painful Joints (RA)

•Systemic Lupus

•Autoimmune disorders

•Asthma

•Sinus Problems

•Respiratory Problems

•Cardiovascular Disease

•Neurodegeenrative Disorders

•Osteoporosis

Inflammation!

-Most of these conditions can attributed to systemic inflammation

Why is it causing all of these other health problems?

The milk we drink today is very different than what are ancestors were drinking 1,000 years ago or even a 100 years ago. Now there are more.....

Hormones

Antibiotics

Unhealthy Cows

Too Many Proteins

Mucus Formation

Too Many Hormones

Consuming dairy increases levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 and estrogen in humans, leading to increased rates of.....

-Breast and Prostate Cancer

-Acne

-Early Menarche in Girls

-Menopausal Symptoms in Women

-And Decreased Testosterone in Men

      -Resulting in weight gain, erectile dysfunction, and prostate problems

Too Many Antibiotics

Because the people who drink milk and consume dairy products on a regular basis are getting a regular dose of small quantities of antibiotics, bacteria are becoming resistant to medication. It's developing Super-Bugs. Large doses of antibiotics are supposed to wipe out all of the bacteria so that none are left to recolonize or mutate. Small doses leave some bacteria behind, and these bacteria learn and become resistant to the medication. Antibiotics in milk also tend to kill off a lot of the good bacteria in your gut. We need that bacteria to help protect the lining of our gut, break down foods, and even create nutrients. People who consume dairy have a lower biodiversity of beneficial bacteria (which is bad) as well as decreased numbers of these friendly bacteria (also bad.)

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Suggests Limits on Antibiotics in Animals Because of Rise of Drug-Resistant Bacteria

Too Many Unhealthy Cows

The cows that we are getting milk from today are not healthy.  They are very sick and have lots of infections, which is why they get put on more and more antibiotics. Cows are not meant to produce as much milk as they are being forced to, and because of this, they are very prone to getting udder infections. These infections produce pus, which ends up in the milk.  The sicker the cow, the more pus it produces. The Dairy Industry Standard is to have less than 200 million pus cells per liter. However, the FDA has upped that to 750 million pus cells per liter, because it was too hard to keep that much pus out. The average is right around 400 million though.

Pus = an exudate of white blood cells, typically white-yellow, yellow, or yellow-brown, formed at the site of inflammation during infection

 No this is not a cow. Pictures of cow udder infections are really gross, however, this gives you an idea of what pus is. Well isn’t that why we pasteurize it? Yes, it kills the white blood cells, it kills bacteria…..but it does not remove it. Now the dairy industry claims that dead bacteria and dead pus isn’t harmful to us, and the research is just starting on this, but some of the DNA is still in tact, our body still absorbs the dead pus and the dead bacteria and it doesn’t know how to deal with it. Most people in America already have some form of leaky gut, and so these get into our blood stream and cause inflammation and a huge immune response. Gross.

Too Many Proteins

Damages kidneys – With the American Diet, you lose about 30% of kidney function by the time you were 70, even if you were otherwise healthy, due to the amount of animal protein people are consuming. 

Higher chances of food allergies - A hundred years ago, we got milk from one cow. Now when we drink a glass of milk, or eat cheese, or consume baked goods with dairy in them, even a single bite can contain fluids from over 3,000 different cows!

Mucus Forming

Casein, the protein found in milk, is a very thick and coarse substance. It's used to make some of the strongest glues. Betacaseine-7 stimulates mucus production in our stomach, intestinal tract, and sinuses. Taking people off dairy has had a tremendous effect on their allergies, asthma, and sinuses. Kids who are having problems with asthma, or ear infections should definitely have dairy taken out of their diet!

Where should I be getting my calcium sources from?

It is recommended that you get around 1,000mg of calcium a day. However, that varies depending on certain factors. Is it from an animal source or a plant source? How much acidic food, such as sugar and animal protein, are you eating throughout the day? We are supposed to eat 6-8 servings of vegetables a day. It is a good rule of thumb to have 2 different vegetables with each meal, and 2/3rds of the plate should be vegetables. If you are even eating half that much and trying to avoid the processed and acidic foods, that should easily be enough.

Give up the dairy, even for just a month, and see what difference it makes in your life. This includes not only milk, cheese, and butter, but also the dairy in breads, pastas, baked goods, soups, creams, dressings, etc. Tip - eggs are NOT dairy!

References:

Milk intake and risk of mortality and fractures in women and men: cohort studies

Exposure to exogenous estrogen through intake of commercial milk produced from pregnant cows.

The possible role of female sex hormones in milk from pregnant cows in the development of breast, ovarian and corpus uteri cancers.

Milk consumption: aggravating factor of acne and promoter of chronic diseases of Western societies.

Elevated risk of carrying gentamicin-resistant Escherichia coli among U.S. poultry workers. Environmental Health Perspectives, 115(12): 1738-1742.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strain ST398 is present in midwestern U.S. swine and swine workers. PLoS One, 4(1): e4258

Antibiotic-resistant Enterococci and Staphylococci isolated from flies collected near confined poultry feeding operations. Science of the Total Environment, 407(8)

Am. J Kidney Dis. 2004 Dec;44(6):950-62. High-protein diets: potential effects on the kidney in renal health and disease

J Ren Nutr.2015 Jan;25(1):1-5. doi: 10.1053/j.jrn.2014.06.002. Epub 2014 Aug 3. High-protein diets and renal health

yours in health, 

dr samantha boldt

Statins - Research shows that they are doing far more harm than good.

Statins - Research shows that they are 

doing far more harm than good.

"These findings on statin's major adverse effects had been under-reported and the way in which they [were] withheld from the public, and even concealed, is a scientific farce."

This was a quote from the authors of The Ugly Side of Statins. Systemic Appraisal of the Contemporary Un-Known Unknowns Link to Article,

 an article published in the Journal of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases in 2013. Currently, 1 in 4 Americans over the age of 45 are on statins, and they bring in over $20 billion dollars a year. Their purpose is to lower cholesterol, which they do, but we forgot to look at all their other side effects. 

(We also forgot to ask whether or not lowering cholesterol in all these people was absolutely necessary.)

What else did the authors have to say?

The article above concluded that there was an increased risk for diabetes, cataracts, erectile dysfunction, cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, and infectious diseases in people that take statins. Since the article was published, more research has shown that statins:

•Breakdown muscle tissues by 30%, resulting in weakness and muscle pain, normally in the shoulders, upper arms, thighs, or low back.

•Increase liver enzymes, causing liver damage. This will appear as fatigue, loss of appetite,  and possible pain in the abdomen.

•Cause neurological side effects such as memory loss, confusion, muscle twitching, and muscle weakness.

•Increase your risk for type II diabetes by as much as 50%, because lowering cholesterol levels can increase insulin levels.

•Deplete your body of much needed cholesterol!

What effects do statins have on the heart?

Now let's also look at the effects of statins on heart health, the thing they're actually supposed to be helping. It is well researched that statins lower CoQ10 storages in the body. CoQ10 is an enzyme that helps energy production of the heart muscles and possesses antioxidant properties. The two articles below show that people with heart conditions are normally lower in CoQ10, supplementing with CoQ10 increases levels in the body, and that increased levels allow better outcomes for patients with hypertension, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, and people who are recovering from heart attacks. Statins actively decrease this important supplement and have been shown to greatly increase cardiovascular risk in women and diabetic patients, and minimally in other groups.

CoQ10 and Heart Health 

CoQ10 and Statins

But don't we need to lower cholesterol?

If you missed the two posts on the importance of cholesterol and the real cause behind why it's elevated, please take a second to look over them. 

Cholesterol: Part 1

Cholesterol: Part 2  

If you have already read them, then you know that we need cholesterol in our body and that it is actually dangerous to lower it too much. You also know that taking a drug to lower cholesterol is not the best option. In fact, it may be the worst!

Please educate yourself on the dangers of statins and discuss them with your medical doctor. Make an informed decision about whether or not your cholesterol needs to be lowered in the first place, and if it does, look at alternative options. When it comes to statins, it's not just your heart at risk, but every part of your body.

yours in health,

dr samantha boldt