Ossigeno

135 t h e O ’ s p a 134 t h e O ’ s p a On the other hand, an excessive consumption of meat and animal derivatives will cause the proliferation of putrefaction bacteria, while an overconsumption of sugar, fat and refined flours will lead to the multiplication of pathogenic bacteria, causing the onset of states of dysbiosis. A microbiota dysbiosis can induce intestine’s weakening, leading to the so-called leaky gut syndrome , in which crevices appear whereby intestinal contents infiltrate bloodstream. Once crossed the proverbial Rubicon, the gush carries with it a load of proteins that could trigger allergies or autoimmune diseases, but also some bacteria and bacterial neurotoxins called lipopolysaccharides . Once they got into the bloodstream, they will affect other organs such as liver, kidneys and heart, causing relevant inflammations and diseases. This phenomenon is deemed connected to type-1 diabetes, celiac disease, multiple sclerosis, asthma - but also food sensitivity, persistent acne and further skin problems, chronic fatigue, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, depression, autism, joint pain and mood swings seem to be handmaidens of this syndrome. Faced with such a mass of affections, there is still no reason to despair. Consumption of prebiotic foods, abandonment of bad living habits for our second brain and the army of researchers responsible of digging deep down into the viscera mysteries are just as real, significantly offering hope and confidence. In the words of Michael Gershon: « Viscera are certainly not the kind of organ that makes the heart beat. No poet would ever dedicate an ode to the intestine. To be honest, general consensus is that colon is a repugnant part of anatomy. Its shape is nauseating, its content disgusting and it smells bad. Intestine is a primitive thing, slimy and akin to a snake. Its body lies twisted in belly, and it slithers when it moves. Long story short, intestine is contemptible and abject, unlike the brain, from which wise thoughts emerge. Intestine is definitely an organ that only a scientist could love. And I am one of those 6 ». 4 trans. Causes, signs and care of chronic diseases . 5 Nobuyoki Sudo et al., Postnatal microbial colonization programs the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system for stress response in mice , 2004 - study approved by the Ethical Commission for Animal Experiments of Kyushu University. 6 Michael D. Gershon, The second brain: a groundbreaking new understanding of nervous disorders of the stomach and intestine , ed. Harper Collins, 1998 Recently, the amount of scientific studies on this human ecosystem, with a particular interest towards the research focused on intestine, has exponentially multiplied, hoping to unravel the relationship between what is improperly called bacterial flora and our psychophysical balance. « Stomach is the source of pleasure and sadness, due to the proximity of the heart as to the consensus with the soul; its faculty imprints into the soul the nature of alacrity or abjection ». Through these words, during the very first century BC in his work De causis, signis et curatione acutorum morborum 4 , Aretæus of Cappadocia sensed the deep correlations existing between psychological condition and viscera. However, it is only in recent years that an ever-increasing interest towards the enteric microbiota, our forgotten organ , has started to be recorded. Gradually, the amount of collected data is allowing us to decipher functioning and behaviour of the multitudes living within us, as to better comprehend the relationships linking our second brain to the first. Gut microbiota is indeed able both to synthesize and to recognize neuroendocrine hormones, producing neuroactive factors capable of communicating with the environment in which it lives - with our second brain, but also with the central nervous system. Among microbiota’s capabilities stands that of modulating serotonin’s secretion by means of enterochromaffin cells , responsible to produce the 5-Hydroxytryptamine Serotonin [or 5-HT]. In other words: to make us happy. More than 90% of the happiness hormone is in fact "manufactured" by our second brain, as well as about 50% of dopamine. Furthermore, in a way, our microbiota is also partly responsible for what we are, for what we feel. An experiment performed on lab rats 5 compared a sample size of two different specimens: the first composed by standard guinea pigs, namely possessing a microbiota, and a second germ-free subsample. Placed in an empty room, mice possessing an enteric microbiota began to explore the space around them and then slowly retreated within an hour, which is a perfectly normal behaviour according to their species. On the other hand, germ-free mice did not exhaust the need to explore the room within sixty minutes, but rather they kept on turning around, showing to be in a clear state of anxiety. In general, these specimens proved deficiencies the likes of an anomalous brain development, learning and social increase disabilities, intestinal motility issues, an augmented risk to infections and to greater food’ and reduced oxygen’s consumption. Not only physical, but also mental and emotional health seem to be at the expense of the enteric microbiota. Therefore, Hippocrates’ quote « all diseases originate in the intestine » was not unsubstantiated at all. As if we were contemporary haruspices, will we be able to understand the meaning of the events happening to our body, to predict the future of our health by analyzing our own viscera? So far, we just know for sure that food plays a fundamental role in maintaining a state of eubiosis in our own microbiota which, as a demanding commensal, can suffer from our food choices as well as it can pay tribute to them. Although we do not perceive it, we know that the microbiota is sitting at our table, it is with us. Being 95% vegetarian, it will reward our oriented choices towards vegetable, high-fibre, substances. second brain and microbiota. the current state-of-the-art