Dr Mercola: May 3, 2012
What is the gut brain connections?
- The secret to improving your mood and brain health is in your gut, as unhealthy gut flora can impact your mental health, leading to issues like anxiety, depression, autism and more
- There is a close connection between abnormal gut flora and abnormal brain development, and just as you have neurons in your brain, you also have neurons in your gut — including neurons that produce neurotransmitters like serotonin, which is also found in your brain and is linked to mood
- Your gut bacteria are an active and integrated part of your body, and as such are heavily dependent on your diet and vulnerable to your lifestyle choices, including poor diet and taking antibiotics
- Limiting sugar and eating traditionally fermented foods, taking a probiotic supplement and breastfeeding your baby are among the best ways to optimize gut flora and subsequently support brain health
Dr. Wilson comments:
Although I believe that it’s important to maintain a healthy gut flora, I think there’s a better explanation for the connection between what’s in your gut and what happens to your brain. When you consume excessive fructose primarily from sugar and HFCS, your liver begins to fill up with fat and you end up with insulin resistance. When you have insulin resistance and consume high glycemic carbohydrates, your brain is exposed to magnified glucose spikes. Because neurons don’t have an insulin gate over time these glucose spikes lead to a diffuse brain dysfunction or “Sugar-Brain”.
The medical term for this condition is Carbohydrate Associated Reversible Brain syndrome or CARB syndrome. People with CARB syndrome develop up to 21 brain dysfunction symptoms that qualify them for a diagnosis of many conditions including depression, autism, ADHD, bipolar II, anxiety disorders, PTSD, obsessive-compulsive disorder, eating disorders, irritable bowel syndrome and fibromyalgia.
Because the brain plays a key role in auto-regulating fat storage, people with CARB syndrome begin to store extra fat at any caloric intake even as they lose lean body mass through dieting. Although CARB syndrome can develop in people with normal gut flora, abnormal gut flora may be a contributing factor to the disease.
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