Brain and Gut relationship: June 2021 Newsletter - Written By Dr. Jerry J. Masarira (Naturopath D. CBIS).

June 16, 2021

Brain and Gut relationship: June 2021 Newsletter - Written By Dr. Jerry J. Masarira (Naturopath D. CBIS).

The good old fashioned drink is a staple fixture in our culture. But how aware are we of its effects on our brain, overall mental health and its effects in our gut ?

Our bodies have been divided up into different systems for specific areas of study by the modern medical system. We have the nervous system, the digestive system, the cardio-vascular system and many others. The need for specialisation has made it necessary to break the body into different segments for further study. On the other hand, irrespective of how a particular system works, we must never forget that the body is a combination of many other existing bodily functions and systems which all depend on each other.

When deciding to specialize in a particular aspect of the body, it is easy to neglect to study the relationship between one's particular system, and how the rest of the body contributes to its functionality. We tend to forget that an organ exists within the body, and works in unison with every other organ. The body functions as a holistic unit, not as a fragmented entity. This is crucial in not only in understanding specific medical conditions, but in understanding general health.

Thus when treating an organ or a specific condition, the whole body should be looked at as a single interdependent unit, not as separate individual parts.

A key area often studied separately from the rest of the body, is psychiatry. Mental health issues and related conditions tend to be examined from a wide variety of several angles, except in the context of the digestive system. Modern psychiatry rarely links mental health with the digestive system. However, an interesting fact to note is that most psychiatric problems in history were commonly treated or cured by cleaning out the patient's gut. A Japanese professor Kazudzo Nishi, estimated that at least one in ten psychiatric conditions occured due to toxins in the bowel.

Prescription drugs used to treat mental conditions and other diseases have to pass through the digestive system in order to affect the brain. The digestive system also happens to be the major source of toxicity within the body. Here is an analogy that might help in comprehending its function. Imagine an oil refinery that processes crude oil into many other oil related products we use today such as plastics, petroleum, diesel, and many others. The process also produces plenty of other poisonous and harmful substances such as benzene, which has been linked to leukemia and other cancers, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, which have been linked to lung cancers and heart attacks amongst other things.

Your digestive system performs a similar role. Everything that is used by the body, has to be processed via the digestive system.

For example, when you think of autism, schizophrenia, dyspraxia and other conditions, many people rarely make the connection with alcohol consumption and alcoholism. Alcohol affects the digestive system in amongst other ways, by diminishing its key function to process and absorb essential nutrients. Within the stomach, it can affect acid production, which reduces the stomach's ability to destroy harmful bacteria. The stomach itself is a highly sensitive ecosystem that needs to maintain a consistent balance in order to continue functioning efficiently.

One of the effects of alcohol consumption is an overgrowth of pathological flora. Putting it simply, flora is a term used to describe the micro-organisms that exist on, or within the human body. In regards to the digestive system, gut flora refers to bacteria and other organisms that live inside the intestines. It also includes yeast and other fungi. Yeast requires glucose and other sugars as food. It obtains these when one digests carbohydrates. Many alcoholic drinks are particularly high in carbohydrates. Alcohol also contains yeast, since it is itself the by-product of fermenting yeast and sugar.

In most healthy people, dietary glucose is converted into lactic acid, water and energy through a biochemical process called glycolysis. However, in those with yeast overgrowth, candida(a type of yeast),takes the glucose and digests it in a completely different way. It breaks it down in a process called alcoholic fermentation. This is not a natural body process, and thus produces by-products which are toxic and harmful to the body. In alcoholic fermentation, candida and other yeasts convert dietary glucose into alcohol (ethanol) and its by- product acetaldehyde.

Alcohol and its by-products have a small molecular weight, which makes them easy for them to cross any barrier in the body. For example they are easily absorbed into the blood, and are able to get through the placenta to a developing foetus.

Acetaldehyde is considered to be the most toxic of alcohol by-products. It has the ability to alter the structure of proteins.

Our bodily make-up consists largely of proteins, and when altered, the body does not function well.

That is also one of the reasons why we have autoimmune diseases. These occur when the immune system attacks itself, which happens when the protein make up of the body is altered. Another effect of altering protein composition, is the damage caused to the myelin. Myelin is the fatty protective coating that surrounds nerve fibres, a bit like the insulation on an electrical wire. As well as protecting the fragile nerve fibres, myelin also allows messages to travel quickly along the nerves without being lost or interrupted.

Myelin is part of the brain systems just like the nervous system, and also coats brain cells and branches like nerve fibers.

In multiple sclerosis, immune cells enter the brain and spinal cord and attack both the myelin and the cells that make it. When myelin becomes damaged, messages find it harder to get through, or can’t get through at all. That’s what causes the symptoms of multiple sclerosis.

Acetaldehyde also causes the function deficiency of vitamin B6.

Also known as pyridoxine,vitaminB6 is a water-soluble vitamin that your body needs for several functions. It’s significant to protein, fat and carbohydrate metabolism and the creation of red blood cells and neurotransmitters.

Your body cannot produce vitamin B6 naturally, so it must be obtained from other foods or supplements.

Function deficiency occurs, when in spite of a person getting plenty of vitamin B6 from their diet, due to acetaldehyde occupying the working sites of the protein cells by which this vitamin needs to function, the vitamin cannot do its work. It then floats around the body and eventually gets excreted. This also happens to other active substances which have to bind to proteins to work, such as enzymes and other essential substances such as vitamins and minerals.

Another by-product of acetaldehyde is thyroid dysfunction. This happens when the thyroid produces plenty of hormones but their working surfaces are occupied by acetaldehyde and other toxins.

Overall body cleansing, in conjunction with eating healthy foods that support vital bodily life and functions is therefore a necessity.

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Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to read through this article. We now have a new website for you to communicate for consultations and also training you as a medical missionary. There are other services you may find useful. On our website, we have recorded over 100 audio weekly lessons and old monthly news-letters you might have missed from the past. Feel free to read and listen. You’re welcome to share our website link to as many people across the globe.

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Dr. Jerry J. Masarira, Naturopath D. CBIS.

Enprohealth Consultant and Certified Brain Injury Specialist.

Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA.

Alt. drmasarirajj@aol.com

drmasarirajj@gmail.com

References and citations

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-b6-benefits

https://www.lapezejohns.com/the-5-most-toxic-substances-in-the-oilfield-industry/

https://www.mssociety.org.uk/research/explore-our-research/emerging-research-and-treatments/myelin-repair