What is the Gut-Brain Connection and How to Improve Their Health

Boosting both our gut and brain's health can lead to improvements in our mood, digestion, health, and overall wellbeing

Posted on

11 December 2023

| Last updated on 2 January 2024

Gastroenterology and Hepatology Doctors in Dubai | Mediclinic Creek Harbour

Socrates proclaimed ‘"All disease begins in the GUT".

Now modern-day research is proving the Greek Philosopher increasingly correct with rising awareness of disorders of gut–brain interaction. Essentially the human brain and intestine, often referred to as the second brain, are hotwired, coupling the emotional centres of the brain to gut function.

So, does it really come as a surprise to know that if digestion is disordered, this can impact on mood and vice-versa? Anxiety for instance, is known to result in stomach aches and loose motions. We have all probably experienced that ‘butterfly feeling’ in our stomach, urgency and need to evacuate the bowels just before an important test, interview or key performance.

In addition, there are billions of microbes that co-inhabit the large intestine, termed the ‘forgotten organ’. Aging, poor diet, ill-health, antibiotics and constant stress all influence the make-up of your personal microbiota. An imbalance in the microbiota has been implicated in autoimmune conditions, obesity, diabetes, inflammatory diseases and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).

The microbiota impacts your mental wellbeing and in turn, your mental wellbeing can further impact the microbiota creating a negative spiral of physical and mind related suffering. In addition, the food you place in your GI tract has a strong bearing on your gut, microbiota and mind related health.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

IBS is increasingly recognised as a condition of both ‘irritable bowel’ and ‘irritable brain’ from which millions of people suffer.

Psychological stresses have a marked impact on your GUT sensitivity and your bowel habit. Compulsive thinking is the number one addiction inflicting human beings.

It is estimated that up to 60,000 repetitive, negative and downright harmful thoughts can be experienced a day. For many people, the worst place they can be trapped, is in their own minds. The body perfectly reflects the state of your mind that - GUT feeling if you like.

Anxiety and stress

Too much past leads to guilt, regret, sadness, bitterness and too much future anxiety, stress and worry.

This mind wandering starts around the age of seven as happiness is projected onto an imaginary future point that never materialises. Multitasking becomes the norm.

The ‘fight or flight’ mechanism remains switched on even though you are perfectly safe. In your mind you start to overthink being two or three steps ahead in your thought processes. The inner critical head voice can become overactive, judging and blaming with burn out soon to follow.

Treatments in Dubai

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT):

Rather than reaching out for unhealthy ways to settle the mind such as empty caloried grease dripping unhealthy snacks that further stress the mind and GUT, why not try mind focused therapies such as Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT).

Why? Because it structurally changes your brain (neuroplasticity), switches on helpful genes (epigenetics), boost the immune system and improves gut health. It results in experiencing less pain, rumination, anxiety, depression and slows the aging process.

Yes, you can literally add up to seven years to your life span. Practicing for 6-8 weeks is all it takes to ‘reboot’ the mind and improve GUT health.

Gut-directed psychotherapies (GDPs) in Dubai improve gut and mind health, carry no side effects and have long-term benefits on stress and quality of life that last even after the therapy is discontinued.

MBCT improves concentration, relaxation, self-esteem, and reduces pain related sensations with significant improvements in both IBS symptoms and overall quality of life.

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Dubai

Physical Activity:

As well as maintaining mental, physical and gut health, physical activity can preserve brain size, improve cognition, and reduce the risk of developing conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and strokes, as well as colon and breast cancer.

Exercise is also associated with a better working memory in children. Any kind of exercise can also both protect against developing depression. It can also improve mood, sleep, bone health, memory, and can be fun.

Over the coming weeks why not try to keep yourself well hydrated, exercise, and maybe try some yoga or slow tai chi classes?

Self-reflection and Living in the Present:

In essence, everyone is a time traveller. Travelling into the past to relive certain life events, or into the future to fantasise about how things may turn out, is a daily occurrence for almost all human beings.

The present moment starts to seem like a distraction, standing in the way of something bigger and brighter. As a result, you can become disconnected from reality, the here and now, and begin to increasingly project happiness onto a future point where, once you have that perfect job, relationship, qualifications, house etc then ‘I will be happy’.

Alternatively, you may begin to look back in time and blame past events or other people for your current problems. If only certain events had unfolded differently, I would be happy now.

Projecting your happiness onto a future point is a delusion, because that point never comes, and constantly harping back to the past only generates bitterness.

Studies have shown that mentally time travelling in this way correlates directly with how unhappy you feel, which in turn negatively impacts on your gut health. You never reach that future utopia because even if your goals are achieved, there will always be another set of goals that materialise before you have ‘made it’ and can be happy.

Mediclinic Creek Harbour | Gastroenterology and Hepatology in Dubai

There are two nervous and systems the sympathetic nervous system which is about flight fight which is associated with worry, and the parasympathetic nervous system which is relaxing.

Keeping some awareness in your body, on your breathing and the space around you rather than living constantly in your mind, can break the cycle of compulsive thinking which is the biggest addiction that human beings face. Practice anchoring yourself in this moment as much possible and see how much better you feel for it.

So why not befriend the only moment you ever have, this moment, and reduce your IBS symptoms? Why not boost your brain size, immune system quality of life and physical health by focusing on the here and now?

It boils down to this, have I had enough of suffering? If so, make this moment your constant companion in life and make everything you do from brushing your teeth, walking, driving and eating a Mindful exercise? What have you got to lose other that your bloating, pain and toileting misery?

Authored by Dr. Sweeny Johal, Consultant Gastroenterologist at Mediclinic Creek Harbour Dubai.