The Path to a Healthy Brain Is Through the Intestines and Gut Bacteria

Intestine and Gut Bacteria are your second brain. As the Brain User Manual team, we attach great importance to Intestine and Gut Bacteria. We now know that our Intestine and Gut Bacteria, which we thought for years to be no use other than digestion and excretion, and which were slightly despised, are the touchstone or touch pipe of our health. In the last 10-20 years, many publications and books have been published on this subject. But what we still know is much less than what we do not know. However, we now know that the deterioration of the balance of the intestine and Gut Bacteriathe microscopic organisms it hosts, paves the way for many diseases and causes and worsens the diseases. Anxiety disorders, depression, autism spectrum disorders, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, migraine, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, restless legs syndrome, Hashimoto’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, psoriasis, and non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Only a tiny part of these diseases. We now know that our intestines, which we thought for years to be no use other than digestion and excretion, and which were slightly despised, are the touchstone or touch pipe of our health.

One of the causes of many diseases is increased intestinal permeability, and the other is dysbiosis (disruption of intestinal microorganism balances). Increased intestinal permeability, lining the inner surface of the intestine, means that the substances/molecules in the intestine escape out of the intestine due to the opening of the connections of the intestinal cells, which are laid like tiles and are tightly connected to each other. These substances escaping out of the intestine affect the immune system around the intestine, causing inflammation first in the abdomen and then in the whole body, causing activation of immune responses and making us sick. In addition, since the Intestine and Gut Bacteria are directly connected with the brain in many ways, the brain also gets sick, making it easier for many neurological diseases I mentioned above. Intestinal microorganisms/microscopic organisms are called the microbiome. A vital part of these creatures are friendly bacteria; the rest are viruses, fungi and archaea.

While there are few bacteria and viruses that have the potential to cause disease under healthy conditions when this delicate balance is disturbed for various reasons and the number of disease-causing organisms increases, our probability of getting sick increases. This unstable or diseased condition is called dysbiosis. Dysbiosis is now seen as one of the causes of many diseases. What is good for gut health? One of our top priorities in life, then, should be to take good care of our gut and microbiome. Here is the complete list, in order from simple to difficult, to help you along the way:

1- Stimulate Your Parasympathetic System Before You Start Eating

For healthy digestion, the stress response should be in the background, and the calm and parasympathetic systems should be active. By breathing deeply, you can activate the parasympathetic nervous system the easiest and fastest way. Take a few deep breaths before each meal. Besides calming you and your system, this will allow you to stay in the moment and enjoy the food.

2- Chew Your Food

Digestion first begins in the mouth. Food that spends enough time with the amylase and other enzymes in the saliva is much easier to digest in the stomach and Intestine and Gut Bacteria. Since you chew more and eat more slowly, you and your brain will understand what you are eating and feel full more quickly.

3- Drink Plenty of Water

Drink at least 1.5, 2-2.5 litres of water per day. Water is needed for your food to move quickly in the digestive system and for your body to produce mucin, the intestinal protective covering. Therefore, drink at least 1.5, 2-2.5 litres of water per day.

4- Don’t Eat Often

Eating frequent meals tires your digestive system and increases your existing stress. The system constantly dealing with digestion cannot find time to repair and maintain itself. Do not leave dinner too late, do not eat after dinner and snacks, and try to leave 12 hours, 16 hours between dinner and breakfast.

5- Don’t Eat Sugar and Strengthen Intestine and Gut Bacteria

Sugar increases intestinal permeability and feeds harmful bacteria and fungi that have the potential to cause disease. In addition, by facilitating weight gain, it further disrupts the intestinal balance. It also contributes to inflammation by causing insulin resistance when taken in large amounts.

6- Don’t Eat Other Processed Foods

Processed foods spoil the intestinal flora with the Sugar, nutritional additives and chemicals they contain. In addition, since the fibre content is shallow, it indirectly contributes to dysbiosis by causing the growth of harmful bacteria.

7- Eliminate Gluten from Your Life

Consuming gluten-containing food causes zonulin secretion in the Intestine and Gut Bacteria. Zonulin secretion is one of the most important causes of increased intestinal permeability. In addition, gluten-containing products often contribute to dysbiosis, as they are obtained from processed grain products.

8- Consume Foods with Fiber

Essential food for the good (friendly) bacteria in your gut is the indigestible fibre found in what you eat. The more fibre you eat, the happier, satiated and multiplying they are. Fibrous foods also help empty your intestines daily by drawing water into them.

9- Consume Probiotic-Rich Foods

Probiotic food means food containing high amounts of beneficial bacteria. All fermented foods contain high amounts of bacteria. You can consume fermented house pickles, cheeses, kombucha, miso and kvass, especially yoghurt and kefir, to supplement friendly bacteria with your meals. However, all fermented foods contain vasogenic amines, so don’t overdo them if you have amine sensitivity.

10- Take a Probioticand Satiate Your Intestine and Gut Bacteria

If you don’t like fermented foods, you can’t consume enough, or you want to increase the amount and variety you take, you can get a probiotic supplement from the pharmacy. The product you buy should contain at least 5-10 billion bacteria, be in a capsule to be less affected by stomach acid and contain at least five different types of bacteria.

11- Don’t Take Antibiotics When You’re Sick

All antibiotics used adversely affect the bacteria in the gut. After the use of antibiotics, it takes at least one year for the bacteria to return to their old number and diversity; unfortunately, the return remains at 75-90%. Of course, with your doctor’s advice, antibiotics can be lifesaving. However, it should not be used for colds, coughs and colds.

12- Consume Bone Broth and Boost Intestine and Gut Bacteria

The glutamine, collagen and other reparative molecules it contains repair your Intestine and Gut Bacteria and reduce the increased permeability. If you dislike consuming bone broth alone, you can also consume it as vegetable soup.

13- Walk and Run Intestine and Gut Bacteria

Walking allows the bowels to repair themselves. Walking is a panacea, The activity that carries human beings to today. Apart from its effects on inflammation and the brain, walking, especially in the open air and nature, increases the number of friendly intestinal bacteria, reduces intestinal permeability by lowering stress levels, and allows the Intestine and Gut Bacteria to self-repair.

14-Meditate with Your Intestine and Gut Bacteria

It takes work to learn to cope with stress. It is only sometimes successful, no matter how much one wishes. An essential tool to help us in this regard is meditation. When you meditate, the stress response and effects in the body are noticeably reduced, and calm centres come into play, making you calmer. Under the influence of the parasympathetic system, which comes into play with tranquillity, digestion becomes easier, intestinal permeability decreases, and the repair process begins.

15- Do Yoga and Boost Intestine and Gut Bacteria

Yoga both minimizes your stress levels and regulates your bowels. Doing Yoga is the most significant antidote to stress. Apart from this, as an aerobic activity, it corrects the balance of intestinal bacteria, keeps the parasympathetic system in action, is suitable for your Intestine and Gut Bacteria, and rotating movements help your bowel movements. Increasing your brain BDNF levels through yoga reduces your depressive symptoms and is suitable for stress-related intestinal complaints.

16- Quit Smoking and Help Intestine and Gut Bacteria

Smoking increases both oxidative stresses in the body and inflammation. It also makes you sick by increasing intestinal permeability. You already know there is no benefit; One more reason to leave it to you!

17- Cut Down on Alcohol

Alcohol itself is a sugar. In addition, Sugar is added to many alcoholic beverages. Alcohol also affects intestinal connections, causing increased permeability. Therefore, consume it sparingly and as little as possible. If you have complaints about your Intestine and Gut Bacteria despite doing all these, get examined by a gastrointestinal diseases (gastroenterology) specialist.