By Dr. Robert Silverman From Newsmax

Recent research confirms the idea that gut health and brain health are tightly linked. Metabolites excreted by gut bacteria are sensed by afferent nerve endings in the gut; their level is reported to the brain via the vagus nerve.

Bacterial metabolites include some substances that are very similar to brain neurotransmitters such as dopamine. In other words, microbial metabolites can interact with the brain and influence behavior and feelings.

The human gut contains more than a thousand species of bacteria. Trillions of individual bacteria are in the gut, meaning the human body contains more bacteria just in the gut than cells in the entire body.

The gut microbiome weighs about three pounds. It contains 20 million bacteria genes; the human body has only about two thousand.

And the gut contains far more neurotransmitter chemicals than the brain itself. In fact, about 90 percent of the body’s serotonin is produced in the gut by enterochromaffin (EC) cells.

The process is highly dependent on the presence of gut bacteria. The bacteria grow and produce metabolites within the gut that stimulate the EC cells to produce serotonin.

Gut bacteria metabolites may also be important in a number of neurodegenerative diseases. In autism, for example, gut microbiota appear to alter the immune system and metabolism.

People with autism often have higher intestinal permeability and show a higher antigenic load from gut bacteria. Their gut biome bacteria are less diverse, and Candida is twice as abundant.

People with autism also have higher than usual levels of LPS (lipopolysaccharides, also known as endotoxin) in their blood. LPS is released from the outer cell walls of gram-negative bacteria when they are destroyed. LPS leads to inflammation that carries over from the digestive tract to the bloodstream.

The presence of antibodies against LPS in the blood indicates that the endotoxin has infiltrated the systemic circulation through the intestinal wall — well-known leaky gut syndrome. LPS elicits a strong immune response that may be closely related to autism symptoms.

Similarly, elevated LPS from intestinal permeability is noted in brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, cognitive decline, dementia, and mood disorders.

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