Our bodies have two brains. There’s the one we all know
about and a second one – in our guts.
Both of these brains begin to form almost from the moment an
egg is fertilised and develop from the same clump of tissue.
As this embryonic tissue divides during fetal development,
one section evolves into the central nervous system, another into the enteric
nervous system. Later these two nervous systems connect via the vagus nerve –
the longest of all the cranial nerves. The vagus nerve stretches from the brain
stem through the neck and finally ends up in the abdomen providing continuous
two-way line of communication between the gut and the brain.
In the last decade or so scientists have discovered that
each brain influences the other and imbalance in one can mean imbalance in the
other.
In his ground breaking book The Second Brain, Dr. Michael
Gershon, a professor of anatomy and cell biology at Columbia-Presbyterian
Medical Center in New York City, says:
“The brain is not the only place in the body that’s full of
neurotransmitters,” he says. “A hundred million neurotransmitters line the
length of the gut, approximately the same number that is found in the brain…”
Those butterflies in your stomach it turns out are real and
caused by a surge of stress hormones released by the body in a “fight or
flight” situation.
A little number crunching reveals that the total number of
nerve cells in the esophagus, stomach and large intestine, outnumber those in
the whole of the peripheral nervous system (that portion of the nervous system
that resides outside the brain and spinal column). Nearly every chemical that
controls the brain in the head has been identified in the gut brain, including
hormones and neurotransmitters (like serotonin).
Maintaining physical health essentially requires keeping
your second brain healthy.
Across the developed world we spend billions on pills to
treating gastrointestinal disorders. But are we making the job harder and more
expensive than it needs to be? Anti-acid medications such as proton pump
inhibitors (PPIs) may provide relief in the short term, but over the longer
term they suppress the absorption of vitamin B12 and calcium, and are linked to
bone and brain shrinkage. Pain-killers such as aspirin and ibuprofen can also
damage the gut.
Maintaining a healthy gut is often a matter of common sense,
for instance
When you are eating – eat. Don’t text, talk on the phone or
watch TV – and don’t eat when you are stressed as adrenaline can interfere with
digestion. Digestion begins in the mouth so take time to really chew your food
thoroughly to give your gut a helping hand.
Spread your meals out over the day. ‘Grazing’ on five
smaller meals a day is easier on your digestion and helps keep your energy up
and your blood sugar levels in balance.
Don’t skip breakfast. The hint is in the name ‘break fast’.
Your morning meal comes after a long period of fasting, when your blood sugar
will be at its lowest point. Eat well to ensure plenty of energy to take you to
lunchtime and beyond.
Eat fruits on an empty stomach, away from main meals, for
instance as snacks during the day. A fruit salad after a heavy meal can cause
indigestion.
Use herbs. A number of medicinal herbs such as ginseng,
ginkgo biloba, liquorice and chamomile help feed bacteria in the gut. Using
herbs and spices such as cumin, cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg, parsley can also
help keep unfriendly bacteria populations down, as well as making your food
more enjoyable.
Practice stress reduction. Both yoga and meditation are
excellent ways to relax. Regular exercise is also important. But any hobby that
absorbs you completely will substantially lower your levels of stress hormones
and this will have a knock on effect on gut health. So remember – make space
for yourself and the things you enjoy.
You have heard about people stretching their muscles when
the muscles are tight, but have you heard about nerve stretching?
What exactly is nerve stretching? Why do we need to stretch
our nerves? How do we stretch our nerves?
Nerve stretches do not really ’stretch’ the nerves, but they
help to improve the movement of the nerves through the joints and muscles by
improving their ability to slide and glide. Like our muscles, the nerves in our
bodies can also become tight. It can be due to staying in a position for too
long, or due to tightening of muscles around the nerves.
Nerve stretches can
reduce the tightness in the nerves and also help relieve pain that is
associated with tight nerves. There are some simple to-do nerve stretches that
you can perform on your own for the nerves in your arms and in your back. They
are as follows:
Median Nerve Stretch
Median nerve is the nerve that runs along the palmer side of
our wrist and can sometimes be compressed in the wrist resulting in a condition
called Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS). Persons with CTS normally complain of
tingling or numbness in the thumb and fingers, in particular the index and
middle fingers.
To stretch the median nerve, place open palm on wall with
finger tips pointing away from trunk and parallel to the floor. Rotate trunk
away from wall keeping the elbow straight and feel the stretch in arm and
forearm. Return to the starting position and repeat on the other side.
Radial Nerve Stretch
Those with radial nerve tightness may experience numbness,
pins and needles or pain on the upper arm, elbow and outside half of the thumb.
To stretch out the radial nerve, clasp hands palm to palm,
keeping the arms facing inwards with elbows straight, and lifting the hands
overhead. Return to the starting position and repeat.
Ulnar Nerve
The ulnar nerve is also commonly known as the “funny bone”
nerve. Prolonged gaming can sometimes stress the ulnar nerve and cause pain at
the wrist.
To stretch the nerve, place thumb and index finger together
to form a circle while keeping the other fingers straight. Place your straight
fingers, palm up, around your chin and bring your “circle” up to your eyes to
form a mask. Return to starting position and repeat.
Sciatic Nerve Stretch
This is especially directed at seniors who spend a lot of time
working or playing on their butts and are therefore starting to stoop.
Sitting for long periods can cause the sciatic nerve to
tighten up. The nerve runs from the lower back down the leg to the foot and a
person with tight sciatic nerve can experience numbness, pain or pins and
needles anywhere along the length of the sciatic nerve.
To stretch the nerve, lie on your back facing up, hug one
knee to the chest by holding the thigh under the knee. Straighten the knee to
about 90-100 degrees and lift the lower leg towards the ceiling. Bend your
ankle and point up and down for 10 times before returning to the start
position.
Repeat cycle for the other foot.
Other ways of nerve stretching:
· With your stretched arms, use a chinning bar to
hang on to, preferably staying off your feet for a few seconds at a time.
Repeat comfortably a few times.
· Stand with your back against an upright post.
With your arms raised, grab the post over your head and try to press your head,
back and buttocks and legs against the post. The ideal is for the back of your
feet to be against the post, aligned with your whole body. Repeat a few times a
day.
THIS
POST IS ESSENTIALLY PART OF “RETROFITTING AGING LIVES”.
