The gut has become known as the second brain.
“The brain has about 100 billion neurons and the gut has about 500 million neurons and so because of this, there is this bi-directional communication between the brain and the gut,” said Dr. Supriya Rao, board certified in gastroenterology, obesity and lifestyle medicine in the Boston area.
“We see a lot of patients in our office who, you know, may have heard this sort of catch all phrase Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or IBS and in those patients there is definitely some breakdown in the brain gut access and because of this, a lot of these patients have severe pain, a change in bowel habits and they also have issues with anxiety, depression,” said Rao.
Ruling out anything serious, is when she prescribes lifestyle changes.
“We see patients who improve their lifestyle, whether it’s through diet, exercise, improved sleep, meditation and stress relief with their friends and family that there definitely is improvement in both their GI symptoms as well as their mental health,” said Rao.
Addressing a patients’ mental health and changing bad eating habits, she said, can go a long way in leading to better and more healthy communications between your brain and gut.
Mindful eating, too. It’s called the 80% full rule. Stop eating before you actually feel full.
“When we’re eating super fast, our brain is not able to catch up with our belly or vice versa to essentially tell us ok, stop, I’m actually full,” said Rao.
Beware of too much sugar. It can paralyze your gut.
“It almost like slows things down, you get more constipated, you get nauseas, upset stomach, abdominal pain, that’s what happens when you eat too much sugar,” said Rao.
As many as 90% of patients with irritable bowel syndrome have an associated mental health condition, most commonly depression and anxiety.
Rao has been quoted in a number of articles on this topic.
