Cookie Settings
Our website may need to store or retrieve information on your browser in the form of cookies. Used mainly to make the site work as needed & give you a more personalized web experience, this information might be about you, your preferences, or your device. Because we respect your right to privacy, you can choose not to allow some types of cookies. Click on the different cookie settings below to learn more and to manage your preferences. Please note that blocking some cookie types can impact your site experience & the services we're able to offer.
Advertising Cookies(?)
Enables storage related to advertising
Analytics Cookies(?)
Enables storage related to analytics (for example, visit duration, page views, etc)
Functional Cookies(?)
Enables storage that supports the functionality of the website or app such as language settings
Personalization Cookies(?)
Enables storage related to personalization such as video recommendations
Security Cookies(?)
Enables storage related to security such as authentication functionality, fraud prevention, and other user protection
Strictly Necessary(?)
REQUIRED: Allows our website to function correctly and cannot be disabled. For login authentication, form submission, basic security, admin, hosting, etc
Confirm My Choices
Accept All Cookies
Cancel
141 Meditation Benefits FAQ Testimonials Order Now Contact Health & Body Brain Power Mind Power Happiness Mental Health Login
Free Demo / Newsletter
Go Back
How Meditation Heals the Gut-Brain Axis, No Probiotics – EOC Institute

How Meditation Heals the Gut-Brain Axis, No Probiotics

Beyond Probiotics: How Meditation Heals The Gut

Why You Have Two Brains

How mindfulness heals your gut better than probiotics

The powerful "emotion ⇆ stomach" connection is a common cultural reference:

"Trust your intuition, trust your gut... I’m so nervous, I have butterflies in my stomach... I have a gut feeling to reject this job offer... What a gut-wrenching experience."

This link is now showing up in many cool and interesting scientific ways. With more than 100 million nerves lining your so called "second brain," the gut / enteric nervous system (ENS) is actually composed of the very same tissue(s) as your central nervous system (CNS).

Why The "Gut-Brain Axis" Is Essential To Health

Why you have two brains: the gut-brain-axis

In fact, many doctors are now saying that our deeply intertwined "first" real brain and "second" gut brain (sometimes called the gut-brain axis) are actually one system, not two.

While it can’t do calculus, write a novel, or pass an exam — your gut certainly can orchestrate a symphony of neurotransmitters, hormones, and electrical impulses.

Beyond helping you digest food, your gut has its own brain-like neural network, playing critical roles in keeping you healthy, including regulating inflammation and commanding your immune system.

So, will simply eating right keep the gut-brain axis in balance? Not necessarily. Here we will go into why your state of mind is so critical to gut health, and why meditation is the missing link above and beyond diet.

"Imaginary" Disease: Why The Mind Is Key To A Healthy Gut

Mindfulness, Gut Health, and the Gut-Brain-Axis

To illustrate the mind-gut link, have you ever heard of the guy afflicted with the "incurable, unknown origin" chronic disease? After visiting a dozen or so doctors, they all have one simple but bewildering diagnosis: "it’s all in your head"! This happens much more than we think.

In fact, gastroenterologists have compiled more than 20 of these "all in your head" GI tract diseases (FGIDs), which account for the vast majority of clinical visits.

So, what’s the reason for these mysterious illnesses? Diet? No, because many of these folks have already tried everything, and why the doctor has labeled their affliction effectively "psychosomatic."

Why Your Ability To Handle Stress Controls The Gut-Brain Axis

The culprit is a known offender, sitting atop the health police’s most wanted list — stress.

How to perfect your gut health using the power of your mind

Even after switching to a healthy diet, stress explains why many "second brain" gut-related diseases still stick around.

Strengthening the link, research has shown that psychological trauma can lead to digestive problems, inflammation, ulcers, IBS, IBD, Crohns, & more.

In light of these new findings, it is obvious that healing the gut is impossible without addressing our ability to manage emotion and stress. How you think does affect your health.

How To Heal Your Gut With Your Mind: Meditation

How meditation heals the gut without probiotics

As the #1 stress conquerer, meditation is the top contender for the "gut-health" championship belt. Who are the other competitors in the ring, duking it out? Probiotics, psychobiotics, and diet.

(Note: Boxing metaphor aside, when it comes to your highest health, all of the above options certainly have their rightful place, of course.)

Here is one study firmly planted in meditation's corner:

Study: How Meditation Turns Off "Bad" Gut Genes, While Helping 1,000+ More

How mindfulness heals the gut-brain axis without probiotics

For 48 patients suffering irritable bowel syndrome (IBD) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a 9 week study at Massachusetts General Hospital changed everything.

Meditation had somehow managed to beneficially alter more than 1,000 genes, including suppressing the nasty protein complex arsonist (NF-kB) responsible for igniting (inflaming) the immune system and GI tract.

Conquer stress and heal your gut without probiotics

Said co-senior study author, Dr. Towia Libermann: "In both IBS and IBD, the pathway controlled by a protein called NF-kB emerged as one of those most significantly affected by the relaxation response."

With monumental implications, meditation effectively disables the genetic trigger linked to so many nasty gut/non-gut related diseases (anxiety, depression, MS, Autism, Parkinson’s, & more), while short-circuiting the body’s endless stress response cycle.

To illustrate the implications, if a pack of mischievous bears were the lone culprits behind your twisted-up micriobiome, then meditation would chase them back into their cave for a "permanent winter hibernation."

The Takeaway

How mindfulness heals your gut

Your gut is incredibly important for overall health. Diet, while important, does not guarantee a healthy microbiome. As evidenced by the "gut-brain-axis," your ability to handle stress is (arguably) more important than diet, along with genes.

Luckily, meditation not only dominates stress like Michael Jordan over the '92-'93 Phoenix Suns, but also orchestrates a Mozart-like symphony expressing only your "cream of the crop" genes.

Feel The Power Of Deep Meditation. Discover EquiSync®
Feel The Power Of Deep Meditation.
Discover EquiSync®

Try For Free
Button 1
Button 2
Button 3
Button 4
Button 5
Button 6
Stop Interval

Click the buttons to play or pause the audio.

X