Digesting experiences and feelings for optimum well-being

Have you ever heard of the Autonomic Nervous System, or ANS?  Or perhaps heard of a treatment for digestive illnesses, which also considers the crucial role played by the ANS?

When it comes to poor digestion, the nervous system is often the last thing people consider. Bringing attention to the relationship between these two body systems is such an important part of my work as a gut health Naturopath!

Pause and hold this thought.

Now, I ask you to consider this...

Have you been struggling with both your digestive health and mental health for a while?

If your answer to this question is "Yes" then you might want to consider a holistic approach to address both these aspects of health together moving forward.

Read on to understand some of the science around how naturopathy can assist!

Understanding the role of the ANS

Let’s start to unravel the intricate mystery of the link between nutrition, mood, and the gut-brain connection.

The ANS works around the clock to keep us alive through regulating:

• body temperature
• blood pressure
• heart rate
• breathing
• digestion
• metabolism
• vital hormones that affect mood
• balancing blood glucose
• acidity levels
• nutrition processes
• eliminating waste, and
• other automatic functions, which include swallowing, coughing, sneezing, bladder control, and yes, even arousal!

It does all this without requiring any conscious effort on our part.

Oh, and it’s also responsible for the body’s healthy automatic fight-or-flight response. This means our ANS keeps us safe by scanning for perceived dangers and prompting us to respond to stimuli.

But what is the ANS?

The ANS is an extensive network of nerve fibers or cells. These cells travel throughout the body and are central to the inner workings of the gut-brain connection. Our gut and brain are in constant communication! They also mutually influence each other.

The result?

Together they regulate organ functions, hormonal balance, rest and digest responses, and much, much, more than can be squeezed into a single blog post!

The ANS and digestive health

Firstly, the ANS contains three anatomically distinct divisions or systems.

When working in harmony, you might imagine these systems and the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) as interacting or dancing together - just like a beautiful symphony in which the mind and body exist in balance and flow.

The three divisions of the nervous system can also be described as networks of nerves, which include:

1. Sympathetic - directs blood flow to active processes (i.e. moving arms and legs) away from the digestive system

2. Parasympathetic - directs blood flow to passive processes (i.e. peristalsis) in the digestive system; and

3. Enteric - governs specific processes (i.e. release of digestive juices) within the GIT/from digestive organs

Even more detail about the ANS...

What happens when the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic systems are in healthy balance?

The body maintains metabolism, repairs itself, removes old cells, regulates mood, and responds appropriately to stressors.

The Enteric system is directly influenced by sympathetic-parasympathetic balance. This system also includes the Polyvagal Nerve and consists of millions of nerve cells, which line the gut.

It is also constantly sending information via afferent nerve fibers from organs in the digestive system to the brain.

When these systems are working well, we tend to:

• digest food and emotions well
• enjoy life, and
• feel good, or consider ourselves as being 'healthy'

Telltale signs digestive health may be heading off-track?

At times, our ANS can become dysregulated by difficult experiences or accumulated micro-stressors. Sadly, we all tend to be very familiar with such occurrences in these modern times.

The commercial medical community has all sorts of pharmaceutical treatments on offer. Treatments include medications for:

• acid reflux
• diarrhea
• constipation
• stomach ulcers
• small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, and
• irritable bowel syndrome

Where ANS imbalances are the source of a gut health concern this is asking for a different kind of attention.

Sometimes we all need support. We need help in moving through life's curly experiences. To move beyond survival mode and back into our natural state of thriving. This is certainly a key focus of my work in creating gut health protocols!

Consequences of ANS imbalance?

If the enteric nervous system inside the gut experiences imbalance, it affects your ANS and can lead to chaos all over your body.

Therefore an imbalance of the ANS can be a contributing cause for difficulty processing and absorbing nutrients. Metabolic imbalance often follows close behind, adversely influencing the delicate release of essential hormones, bodily chemicals, and fluids that regulate everything we do.

Long-term ANS dysregulation can especially impair your body’s immune response, in addition to its ability to effectively respond to treatments, and ultimately can also impact mental health.

Returning to optimal health

Has something that I've mentioned here today resonated with you? Or perhaps with your own journey?

I feel you. You can grow through this time, become a wiser version of the amazing person you know yourself to be, and bounce back to optimal wellness.

Start by bringing loving attention to yourself during this time - you too can digest any challenging experience and return to your very own signature state of flow.

Know that the wise part of yourself is compassionately awaiting your attention, in tune with your own timing and rhythm. Know that I am here for you too. Here to help you transform your health and return to your natural state of thriving.