THE GUT-MIND CONNECTION
WITH JOSH REED
Your gut, your second brain, your bugs and butterflies!
T
hose butterflies in your stomach
actually hold some scientific truth.
As a matter of fact, your
gastrointestinal (GI) system contains millions
of nerves that branch from your gut, all the
way up to your brain. Further to this, your gut
produces neurotransmitters that send signals
along that gut-brain highway, as well as
containing buckets of bacteria that do all
sorts of things that impact on your brain.
We call all this ‘The Gut-Mind Connection’.
And remarkably, it has been linked to
alterations in mood, anxiety, depression,
memory, food cravings, eating behaviours
and ultimately life choices.
THE BODY’S SECOND BRAIN
Dubbed the body’s second brain, the gut
contains over 500 million neurons and plays a
crucial role in both GI health and many other
body functions, including those in the mind.
Interestingly, gut neurons and neurotransmitters
are