Food For Thought: Here is How Your Belly Controls Your Brain

Have you ever felt butterflies in your stomach or saw something disturbing that made you feel sick to your stomach? What about when you are hungry, does it make you feel moody?

Well, the brain and your belly are actually physically and biochemically connected, which means the state of your intestines influence the way your brain works or behaves. Around 90% of serotonin (which regulates our mood) is found in the digestive system and only 10% in the brain.

The connection between belly and the brain is still not fully studied, although there are some experiments made in order to discover how actually belly controls the brain. According to one experiment where mice were included, it was shown that mice completely lost their instinctual fear of cats, simply because of ingesting a microbe Toxoplasma gondii. Interestingly, even after it was removed from the body their behavior continued, which suggests it changes the structure of the brain.

Ruairi Robertson of Harvard University has started examining the link between our bellies and brains. His research is investigating how intestines and the microbes within them can influence both physical and mental health and most importantly how our diets influence this connection.

Check the video below and listen to his incredible TEDx talk:

Source: ANewKindOfHuman