The gut it the cornerstone of health! The gut has many different functions.
- Digests food
- Absorbs and assimilates fuel and nutrients from food to cell
- Responsible for 25% of detoxification
- Elimination
- Keeping anything that should not be in the body out of the body and keeping everything that is good for body inside the body.
- Manages trillions of bugs - the good and the bad
- Repairs and maintains its cell integrity and mucous membranes (replaces itself every 3-5 days)
- Houses 60-70% of our immune system GALT
- Creates neurotransmitters, runs its own nervous system and sends communication back to the brain.
"When our behavior changes in a certain way, the brain sends a message to our gut that changes our gut bacteria causing low grade inflammation and possibly GI distress. Also when our gut bacteria changes, it can lead to behavioral changes." -Digestive Wellness, Elizabeth Lipski, Ph.D, CCN, CHN
Here are some common "brain affecting gut function" scenarios.
- Anxiety = diarrhea, ulcers
- Nervous = "butterflies in the belly"
- Closed, reserved, suspicious (Anal-retentive) = constipation
- Unvented anger = gallbladder issues