2001 study from the journal Gut compared thirty-four women between the ages of nineteen and forty-five who had suffered from constipation for five years or more with those of the same age range who had no history of constipation. It was clearly shown that the constipated women had a worse score for overall health and felt less feminine. The constipated women also found it much harder to form close relationships than those with normal bowel functioning.
Interestingly, this study also looked at rectal blood flow, which reflects the function of nerve pathways from the brain to the gut. These nerve pathways are often affected by stress. Reduced rectal blood flow was strongly associated with anxiety, depression, bodily symptoms, and impaired social skills as well as feeling unfeminine. The higher the psychologically abnormal score, the lower was the rectal blood flow.
The authors of this study concluded that a woman's psychological makeup alters the function of the involuntary nerves linking the brain to the digestive system. Reduced activity of these nerves slows gut function, resulting in constipation. Because most neurotransmitters needed for good brain mood are made in the digestive tract, slowed digestive function may play a role in how a woman feels about herself and how she responds in a relationship. Other studies have also shown higher rates of psychiatric issues with persons who have bowel problems like Crohn's disease, colitis, or irritable bowel syndrome.
Getting Things Moving
To learn the importance of good bowel movements, it makes sense to help get things moving. I often tell patients it's healthy to have a bowel movement every day. Although some medical texts recommend three times a week as normal, I believe once a day should be the minimum.
Water is the first step toward regular bowel movements. Besides helping the body absorb important amino acids, water keeps things flowing throughout the body. If we do not have enough water, the body steals it from the colon contents, making us constipated. Second, a little fiber (about 25 g a day) goes a long way for better mood—and for better relationships and self-esteem, according to the study. Add a plentiful amount of fruits and veggies to your diet. If this is not enough, sometimes flax meal, psyllium, or organic dried prunes may do the trick to, as my Great Uncle Joe used to say, “get the pipes moving.” Third, stress reduction via acupuncture, meditation, yoga, or other work may help to open up bowel movement.
Serotonin and Digestion
Dubbed “the second brain” by Dr. Michael Gershon of Columbia University, the digestive tract and its accompanying bundle of nerves, called the enteric nervous system, play a major role in the production of neurotransmitters used by the brain. The nervous system around the digestive tract and the brain are very closely linked—in fact, they develop from the same embryonic tissue. And, 80 to 90 percent of the body's serotonin is produced and located in the gastrointestinal tract. serotonin is an amine that is formed from tryptophan in the digestive tract's enterochromaffin cells (EC) and in other similar cells called enterochromaffin-like cells (ECL). Both EC and ECL are widely distributed in the gastrointestinal tract.
Tryptophan → 5-Hydroxytryptophan → Serotonin → Better Mood
AN HONEST NOTE ABOUT SEROTONIN, RESEARCH, AND MEDICINE
There's an old joke that goes something like this: One night, a wino dropped his car keys in a mostly dark parking lot. As he was looking for them over and over in an area around the sole lamppost, some observant person came up to him and said, “Hey, friend, you could have lost your keys anywhere in this parking lot—why are you only looking over here?” The drunk man responded, “Because the light is better.”
As you continue reading this book, please remember that oftentimes in medicine, we tend to search where the light is better. The truth is, it's very simplistic to put up a
Interestingly, this study also looked at rectal blood flow, which reflects the function of nerve pathways from the brain to the gut. These nerve pathways are often affected by stress. Reduced rectal blood flow was strongly associated with anxiety, depression, bodily symptoms, and impaired social skills as well as feeling unfeminine. The higher the psychologically abnormal score, the lower was the rectal blood flow.
The authors of this study concluded that a woman's psychological makeup alters the function of the involuntary nerves linking the brain to the digestive system. Reduced activity of these nerves slows gut function, resulting in constipation. Because most neurotransmitters needed for good brain mood are made in the digestive tract, slowed digestive function may play a role in how a woman feels about herself and how she responds in a relationship. Other studies have also shown higher rates of psychiatric issues with persons who have bowel problems like Crohn's disease, colitis, or irritable bowel syndrome.
Getting Things Moving
To learn the importance of good bowel movements, it makes sense to help get things moving. I often tell patients it's healthy to have a bowel movement every day. Although some medical texts recommend three times a week as normal, I believe once a day should be the minimum.
Water is the first step toward regular bowel movements. Besides helping the body absorb important amino acids, water keeps things flowing throughout the body. If we do not have enough water, the body steals it from the colon contents, making us constipated. Second, a little fiber (about 25 g a day) goes a long way for better mood—and for better relationships and self-esteem, according to the study. Add a plentiful amount of fruits and veggies to your diet. If this is not enough, sometimes flax meal, psyllium, or organic dried prunes may do the trick to, as my Great Uncle Joe used to say, “get the pipes moving.” Third, stress reduction via acupuncture, meditation, yoga, or other work may help to open up bowel movement.
Serotonin and Digestion
Dubbed “the second brain” by Dr. Michael Gershon of Columbia University, the digestive tract and its accompanying bundle of nerves, called the enteric nervous system, play a major role in the production of neurotransmitters used by the brain. The nervous system around the digestive tract and the brain are very closely linked—in fact, they develop from the same embryonic tissue. And, 80 to 90 percent of the body's serotonin is produced and located in the gastrointestinal tract. serotonin is an amine that is formed from tryptophan in the digestive tract's enterochromaffin cells (EC) and in other similar cells called enterochromaffin-like cells (ECL). Both EC and ECL are widely distributed in the gastrointestinal tract.
Tryptophan → 5-Hydroxytryptophan → Serotonin → Better Mood
AN HONEST NOTE ABOUT SEROTONIN, RESEARCH, AND MEDICINE
There's an old joke that goes something like this: One night, a wino dropped his car keys in a mostly dark parking lot. As he was looking for them over and over in an area around the sole lamppost, some observant person came up to him and said, “Hey, friend, you could have lost your keys anywhere in this parking lot—why are you only looking over here?” The drunk man responded, “Because the light is better.”
As you continue reading this book, please remember that oftentimes in medicine, we tend to search where the light is better. The truth is, it's very simplistic to put up a
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