The human gut has trillions of bacteria that help to regulate digestion and break down food.  An extremely important function they have is to keep out bad bacteria and potential harmful microbes.  The gut is a very important part of the body, because it affects not only your digestion and metabolism, but your brain too!

Often called your “second brain,” the human gut plays a big role in a human’s life.  The gut produces about 95% of serotonin, which is the drug that affects emotion.  An experiment with mice was done to see the effect that their gut had on their brain activity.

Each mouse received antibiotics, consisting of neurochemicals that enhanced mood, and were observed after this change occurred in their gut.  The mice became more energetic.  The article mentioned that even changing an animal’s gut by one bacteria can change their mood.  In this case altering one bacteria was tested which caused the mice to be more cautious than normal.

This article went in depth on how the bacteria in your gut can cause anxiety. “Bacteria communicate with the brain via the vagus nerve: When the vagus nerve is severed, effects of gut bacteria on brain biochemistry, stress response and behavior evaporate.”  They then went on to discuss how someone’s brain can affect the human gut, which was extremely fascinating.

Golden Snub-nosed Monkeys, Qinling Mountains - China

They first did tests with monkey’s and found that mothers who were exposed to loud noises during pregnancy caused their offspring to have less beneficial bacteria.  Another experiment was done with students in which they gave stool samples during exam week.  The results showed that their was less good bacteria in their gut, called lactobacilli.

In general the human gut plays a huge role on the brain and vice versa.  Stay healthy, don’t stress too much over school because you never know what anxiety could be doing to the good bacteria in your gut!

I chose this article because I have stomach issues and had to go gluten free.  I didn’t realize what goes into your gut had such a large effect on the brain!