Our emotions affect our internal organs, namely the digestive system and large and small intestines!

Our emotions and our mind have a great deal of impact on our gut and digestive system.  There are many studies that prove that if and when we are stressed we have a higher tendency to experience stress in our internal organs, such as our large and small intestines and our bowels.

The human gut is an amazing piece of work. Often referred to as the “second brain,” it is the only organ to boast its own independent nervous system, an intricate network of 100 million neurons embedded in the gut wall. So sophisticated is this neural network that the gut continues to function even when the primary neural conduit between it and the brain, the vagus nerve, is severed. (taken from http://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/09/gut-feeling.aspx).

The gastrointestinal tract is sensitive to emotion. Anger, anxiety, sadness, elation — all of these feelings (and others) can trigger symptoms in the gut.

The brain has a direct effect on the stomach. For example, the very thought of eating can release the stomach’s juices before food gets there. This connection goes both ways. A troubled intestine can send signals to the brain, just as a troubled brain can send signals to the gut. Therefore, a person’s stomach or intestinal distress can be the cause or the product of anxiety, stress, or depression. That’s because the brain and the gastrointestinal (GI) system are intimately connected — so intimately that they should be viewed as one system.

This is especially true in cases where a person experiences gastrointestinal upset with no obvious physical cause. For such functional GI disorders, it is difficult to try to heal a distressed gut without considering the role of stress and emotion (taken from http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/the-gut-brain-connection).

 

Next time your stomach is upset, consider how stressed you are, and if your mind has anything to do with it. If you are stressed, try some meditation, yoga, or some exercise, or anything that relaxes you.

Sometimes when you feel hungry and can’t stop eating food, you may actually be thirsty!

Have you ever had a time when you keep eating but you don’t seem to feel full? Your body may actually be thirsty, not hungry.

This is because hunger and thirst are controlled by the same part of your brain; the hypothalamus.  Sometimes you may think that you are hungry, but in fact your brain is trying to tell you that you are thirsty.  The average human body needs at least 1.5 litres of water per day, so next time you think you may be hungry, take the following into consideration;

• When was your last meal?
• Have you had your minimum daily water intake?

Generally the thirst mechanism kicks in when you are already slightly dehydrated, so its best to drink water throughout the day.

Whenever you think you are hungry and it is not your usual meal time, drink a glass of water, wait about 15 minutes and then if you are still hungry then you may need food, otherwise, your body may have just been thirsty.

🙂