Each of us carries a history of how disease has affected our families - heart disease, stroke, diabetes… in my family the common story is auto-immune disease.  Most women in my family have dealt with Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Sjogren’s disease, or Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis.  We aren’t alone: autoimmune disease in America is rapidly rising.  I have been on a mission to help people prevent and reverse these issues to create a more vibrant life.  What needs to be addressed?  Stress physiology, i.e., the health of the nervous system and the health of the digestive system.  Let me explain.

There are over 100 million nerve cells lining the gastrointestinal (GI) tract from the esophagus all the way to the rectum.  This grouping of nerve cells is called the enteric nervous system (also called the second brain) and communicates with our brain and spinal cord (Central Nervous System or CNS) to coordinate digestion: the release of enzymes to break down our food for nutrient absorption as well as elimination.

If you have ever felt butterflies in your stomach, “trusted your gut”, or noticed how long-standing stress created diarrhea or constipation - you are noticing the connection of the CNS to the enteric nervous system.  

An irritation in the GI system triggers the brain and spinal cord to create a stress response, shifting our hormonal levels.  This is highly related to depression and anxiety, and can affect the quality of our thinking and memory.  This stress-induced hormonal shift affects gut hormones, creating an environment in the gut that decreases levels of healthy gut bacteria.

If stress becomes chronic, a fight-or-flight state in the body induces gut dysbiosis, meaning the levels of good and bad bacteria are altered causing chronic inflammation in the digestive tract.  This damages the lining of the gut, creating gaps in what should be tight junctions in between the cells of the gut.  This state of “leaky gut,” causes food particles to escape the gut and transfer into the blood stream.  Food particles in the blood stream are seen as a threat by the immune system which then attacks the food particles, creating an inflammatory complex that can be deposited in joints and/or organs.  The immune system recognizes these inflammatory complexes as again - a threat to be attacked - and the immune system attacks organs or joints causing severe local, as well as, systemic inflammatory issues.  This is autoimmune disease.  

Chronic stress physiology and its effect on gut health is at the root of autoimmune disease. Misalignments of the spine over time cause severe disruption in the communication between the CNS and the enteric nervous system, especially misalignments between the spinal levels of T4 to L2.  With dampening of communication between the brain and the GI tract, there is further interference and dysregulation of gut health.  Fight-or-flight physiology is also exacerbated.

What do you do?  Maximize gut health.  Improve the function of the nervous system with Network Spinal Chiropractic.  Work and implement lifestyle changes and learn more about how to specifically protect and improve gut health with nutritional strategies.

Why is this important?  Gut and nervous system health affect your entire state of health: how you think, your energy, your sleep, your mental clarity, your mood, your immune system health, and even your mobility.  

While over 40% of Americans experience known GI health issues (constipation, diarrhea, IBS, heart burn, bloating, pain, upset stomach), more research is pointing to the fact that GI/nervous system health issues may be affecting the majority of the population and be a root cause in many disease processes.  

Remember, Create Health by Choice, Not by Chance.