Food for Thought: How Gut Microbes Change Your Mind: Jon Cryan's TedMed Talk

If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you know I link our mental health to the health of our GI system but fundamentally to the microorganisms that live there. They give off chemicals that are good for us or toxic to us. And they balance or direct our immune system. I aim my treatment protocols to the correcting the balance of the microbiome.

In my opinion the main way to have the wrong or pathological microbiome is to have low vitamin D, or a cesarean section, which triggers gluten sensitivity in about 40-50% of the population, usually unrecognized or undiagnosed. Continued ingestion of grains and dairy lead to the overgrowth of pathological bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungus. (There are lots of other compounding environmental irritants like heavy metals like lead, infections, low intake of B vitamins in the person with methylation polymorphism or the use of antibiotics that I have already written about.) These pathological organisms cause disease! Mental and physical. And in gluten sensitive people who are eating gluten, their life expectancy is 20 years shorter or stated another way: an increased death rate of 400% by the age of 65. And it is doesn't have to be this way!

John Cryan investigates how the gut microbiome affects the mammalian brain. He is Chair of the Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience and Principal Investigator in the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Center at University College of Cork (Ireland). His research has far-reaching public health implications, from how we view Caesarean sections, to how the microbiome influences brain development, to the impact of probiotics on mood. John’s work shows that the term “gut feeling” might actually make neurobiological sense.





Please view the short 13:16 TedMed talk by neuroscientist John Cryan where he shares surprising facts and insights about how our thoughts and emotions are connected to our guts. 

And if you have time here is the short 5:28 minute video "The invisible universe of the human microbiome."

You should be asking yourself, how do I find out if I am in the high risk group for mortality or morbidity? Since there are no reliable blood tests, symptoms, or signs of celiac disease or non celiac gluten sensitivity, I suggest everyone get tested with a simple, inexpensive, and reliable test for both called "genetics" from www.enterolab.com. No needles involved!

For those of you who know you are gluten sensitive: get rid of the toxic gluten 100% of the time. And heal the microbiome with a scientifically proven, grain free, sugar free, starch free, GAPS diet. 

To Your Health

Dr. Barbara