A Brain In The Head, Heart And Stomach

Since the discovery of the human genome to here, medicine has been taking giant steps. Some research is demonstrating or confirming the links between some substances that circulate in our body and our daily behavior in all its aspects, social, work and affective.

These findings make it possible to find new explanations for some of the unsolved problems of traditional medicine and to face novel solutions from there.

The body and brain relationship

In the medicine that was studied in college more than forty years ago, when I graduated as a doctor, it was stated that neurons belonged exclusively to brain tissue.

We believed that there, especially in the cortex, all thinking happened and all behavior, emotion and any other human response to an external or internal stimulus was designed.

Today it is known that this is not the case. Nerve cells with the same characteristics as brain cells have been discovered in various organs of the body, especially the heart and the digestive system.

We can accept that you think not only with your brain, but also with your heart and your guts.

For many researchers, the digestive system functions as a second brain ; a neural network made up of more than one hundred million cells located between the two muscular layers of the digestive tract, and which seem to have the same capacities as their similar ones in the cranial brain.

Including the possibility of releasing some neurotransmitters important, if not essential, for the proper functioning of the digestive system (such as the mechanism of absorption of nutrients and the elimination of waste and toxins).

Perhaps that is not the great surprise of these findings, but it is to verify that these “neurons” also act in the regulation of cognitive, emotional or intellectual functions and in the maintenance of a good immune system.

Where does serotonin come from?

The best example is the metabolism of serotonin, an endopharmaceutical that is associated with happiness and well-being, and that until today was believed to “inhabit” the brain, but now appears in significant quantities among the substances produced by ” intestinal brain ”.

More than three quarters of the serotonin available to our body is generated in the intestine

The same happens with the “cardiac brain”, where millions of other “neurons” nest, far from the central nervous system, but interrelated with it and with the totality of our being, including each of its physical or emotional responses.

Beneficial bacteria

I write this and realize that nothing said should surprise us too much.

Is it that when we are tense or anxious we say that we have a “knot in our stomach”, do we not talk about “butterflies in our belly” when we are in love, do we not “loosen our intestines” when we are afraid?

There is more and more evidence that suggests that a balanced intestinal flora is essential for the well – being of the person. Millions of bacteria are normal inhabitants of the healthy intestine and help our body to function properly.

In fact, a chronically altered intestinal flora for any reason is often the cause of various diseases, such as allergies, diarrhea, migraines, polyps, diverticula, and even some types of precancerous lesions.

For this reason, nutritionists begin to recommend the consumption of certain foods rich in healthy bacteria (such as lactobacilli and bifidobacteria), such as some yogurts and other fermented ones, whose consumption could balance the intestinal flora and, from there, favor the recovery of the health and the appearance of a certain psychological well-being.

The intestinal flora and emotions

The experiment carried out with laboratory mice born without intestinal flora and which from the beginning shows radically different behaviors in their social behavior, with traits that we could call “autistic” or “aggressive” is very interesting and striking .

Just reestablishing the natural flora reduced anxious and hostile behavior

It lowered the level of cortisol in the blood, one of the substances related to stress in animals and humans. Science thus confirms what the fusion of knowledge between East and West had already anticipated.

All in one: body and mind

The human being is an interconnected whole, a miracle of harmonious imbalances that includes aspects that can only be separated in theory and for purely didactic purposes, but that in reality are later subjected to the holistic concept of the health of the body, of the mind. and of the spirit, which, incidentally, cannot exist one without the other.

A tale about the brain

Legend has it that there was a time and a planet in which a single inhabitant called Otcel lived. That man, the only representative of his species on that planet, literally reigned over everything that was in his environment: animals, plants, rivers and mountains; he reigned over the wind, the sun and the rain, who obeyed him without question … so great was his power.

It did not escape Otcel that his power over things was the result of his enormous intelligence.

One night, while the sovereign slept, all his organs gathered at the foot of his bed. The brain, unsurprisingly, presided over the meeting.

“We can no longer bear your pride or your tyranny,” they all told the brain, “we also need attention, we have our needs and demands,” said all the organs in rebellion.

“How dare you!” The brain roared. You are nothing without me.

“Not you without us,” said the heart.

“We demand fairer treatment,” said the intestines, which were very strong and influential.

The brain retreated to its dreams, leaving the others in the midst of mutiny, although its anger continued to haunt. How dare they, after all he did for them!

Otcel’s memory recalled old confrontations and revived old grudges. For a long time, he had been bothered by the loss of blood that he suffered every time his intestines digested. That was a good place to teach everyone a lesson. Two birds in one stone, he thought.

Using its powers, the brain inhibited through its emissaries any trace of hunger and need for nutrient intake. Now they would understand who was in charge … and as an added benefit, they would finally have all the blood flow at their sole disposal.

In order not to make this story long, I can only tell you that, upon awakening, the brain maintained its claim to hegemony over the rest of the body and that, a few weeks later, sadly, Otcel died of starvation.

His weakened heart failed to convince him of his mistake, and by the time his brain finally realized that the destruction of others meant its own destruction as well, it was too late.

The holistic vision: globality

The truth is that we do not “have” a heart, two eyes and a liver; “We are” our heart, our liver and our eyes.

And that is why, when we get sick, we are sick globally, even though our pathology is, at that moment, damaging one part of us more than others.

Holistic medicine shows it in a graph of concentric circles in which:

• the center circle represents the psychic area
• the middle ring is the physical body
• the external symbolizes the social area

In other words, whatever the disease or disorder, and whatever its magnitude or significance, it will always encompass our being as a unit, affecting our thoughts and feelings, our body and our relationship with others.

Neurotransmitters apart, whether or not there are alternative brains, you and I and we are all complete units made up of undivided parts that complete and complement each other, and, therefore, it will be good to take care of and attend to all our “parts”.

To neglect any of our parts is to neglect them all