Did you know that everyone has some culture!
Even animals by the way!
I am talking about bacterial culture by the way!
Now a ‘cultured’ person like you would know that but did you know that your behaviour is determined by the bacteria in your gut!
That feeling in your gut may be a bacteria after all!
Now research indicates that the composition, diversity, and sheer amount of bacteria in your gut (the microbiome) can significantly influence your behavior, mood, and personality.
While they do not completely control you like a “puppet master,” microbes in the gut communicate with the brain, impacting stress levels, anxiety, sociability, and even cognitive functions!
The gut contains a “second brain”—the enteric nervous system—which is composed of around 100 million neurons and is in constant, two-way communication with the brain via the vagus nerve! It also produces the vital bullets of our mood guns! The neurotransmitters! Gut bacteria manufacture, or signal the body to produce, more than 90% of the body’s serotonin (which regulates mood) and significant amounts of dopamine and Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which helps manage anxiety!
A more diverse gut microbiome is generally associated with lower stress and anxiety, while reduced diversity or an unhealthy balance (dysbiosis) is linked to higher anxiety and depression. Microbes may even influence your eating habits by producing neuroactive compounds that trigger cravings for sugar or fat, encouraging the growth of the bacteria that thrive on those specific foods.
Research has also shown that changing the gut microbiome via diet can alter social decision-making, such as increasing a sense of fairness in financial games.
A high-fiber diet with natural prebiotics and probiotics (e.g., fermented foods) supports a diverse and healthy gut, which is linked to better mood and behavior.
While the overuse of antibiotics can disrupt the microbiome, reducing its diversity and potentially causing “behavioral” side effects, such as lower scores on cognitive tests.
In fact in some “germ-free” mouse studies; it has been seen that transplanting gut microbiota from depressed humans into mice resulted in the mice displaying depression-like behaviors!
Remember that next time your gobble down those antibiotics without prescription like it’s a dessert you got in your uncle’s house!
You are what you eat and what’s in your gut!
Now this blog may not get viral because; well it’s bacterial!
Then again more than the blog getting viral I would like the world getting more peaceful! One way would be by listening to wise ‘cultured’ people like Vijayendra Saraswathi Swamigal…
Now stop that junk food and get more fiber for your gut and health!
Subh ratri…
ramadocblog 