Synthetic 'Vitamins' Endanger Naive Consumers

LET'S TAKE A COUPLE OF QUICK MINUTES HERE

AND TALK ABOUT A TOPIC THAT IS VERY UPSETTING TO ME
AND ONE THAT YOU SHOULD BE WELL AWARE OF.

YOU KNOW, THERE'S A 95 PLUS PERCENT CHANCE THAT THE VITAMINS YOU'RE CURRENTLY TAKING ARE HARMING YOU.

AND I SAY THAT AS CLEAR AS POSSIBLE FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND ,
BECAUSE MORE THAN 95% OF THE VITAMINS THAT ARE SOLD TODAY ARE SYNTHETIC .

THEY'RE MANUFACTURED WITH CHEMICALS IN A LAB.
NOW I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING.
"OH.NO.I TAKE A REALLY GOOD ONE" AND
"MY DOCTOR EVEN SUGGESTED I TAKE IT.

WELL, LET ME JUST STOP YOU THERE,
BECAUSE IF YOUR DOCTOR SUGGESTED YOU TAKE IT, UNLESS THAT DOCTOR IS SOME SORT OF A NATURAL PRACTITIONER, THERE'S A VERY HIGH PROBABILITY THAT THAT IS A SYNTHETIC 'VITAMIN'.

NOW, EVEN YOUR TOP BRANDS, LIKE CENTRUM, ONE A DAY, JUST ABOUT ALL THE VITAMINS SOLD AT THE GROCERY STORE, YOUR LOCAL GNC, EVEN NATURE MADE, FOLKS. NATURE MADE SELLS SYNTHETIC VITAMINS. YOU CAN GO RIGHT ON THEIR WEBSITES.

SO THE SYNTHETIC FORM OF VITAMIN B12 IS CALLED CYANOCOBALAMIN . IT ACTUALLY HAS CYANIDE IN IT, [YES, THE TOXIC SUBSTANCE, CYANIDE], THAT THEN HAS TO BE REMOVED BY YOUR LIVER.

BUT CYANOCOBALAMIN IS THE SYNTHETIC FORM OF VITAMIN B12.
METHYLCOBALAMIN IS THE ALL NATURAL FORM OF VITAMIN B12.

I ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO AND LOOK AT CENTRUM, ONE A DAY, NATURE MADE, GNC PRODUCTS AND SEE IF YOU SEE THE CYANOCOBALAMIN OR THE METHYLCOBALAMIN. BECAUSE I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO FIND. WE DID THE RESEARCH.

WE LOOKED THIS UP ONLINE, AND WE HAVE BEEN IN THE STORES. IT IS SYNTHETIC.

THESE COMPANIES ARE OWNED BY THE PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES.
I MEAN, NATURE MADE IS OWNED BY OTSUKA.

CENTRUM IS OWNED BY PFIZER.

ONE A DAY BRAND IS OWNED BY BAYER.
AND THEY USE SYNTHETIC VITAMINS.

SYNTHETIC VITAMINS ARE VERY HARMFUL TO YOUR BODY SYSTEM, AND THER'S LOTS OF REASONS.

AND I COULD GO INTO ALL THE SCIENCE.
I MEAN, WELL, YOU CAN GOOGLE SEARCH IT FOR YOURSELF, BUT I CAN TELL YOU EVEN SOMETHING AS SIMPLE IS SYNTHETIC CALCIUM HAS BEEN PROVEN TO INCREASE YOUR RISK OF HEART ATTACK AND STROKE  BY AS MUCH AS 30% .

I MEAN, THESE ARE STAGGERING NUMBERS . AND UNFORTUNATELY, THE MEDIA LUMPS ALL SUPPLEMENTS TOGETHER.  THEY DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ALL-NATURAL AND A SYNTHETIC. 

SO WHY, WHY WOULD SOMEONE USE SYNTHETIC 'VITAMINS' INSTEAD OF NATURAL IF SYNTHETIC SO BAD FOR YOU? WELL, I AM PRETTY SURE YOU KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT BEFORE I EVEN SAY IT.

FIRST OF ALL, CYANOCOBALAMIN, THE SYNTHETIC FORM OF VITAMIN B12, IS ONE HUNDRED TIMES CHEAPER THAN THE METHYLCOBALAMIN, THE ALL-NATURAL B12. SO NOT ONLY IT IS CHEAPER, BUT THESE SYNTHETIC 'VITAMINS' HAVE A FAR FAR LONGER SHELF LIFE.

SO THAT JUST DOESN'T MEAN THE SUPPLEMENTS THAT ARE SITTING ON THE SHELF  IN THE LOCAL GROCERY STORE OR, YOU KNOW, YOUR HEALTH FOOD VITAMIN SHOP. NOT JUST THE SUPPLEMENTS THAT NEED A LONGER SHELF LIFE.

BUT HOW ABOUT ALL THE FOOD THAT WE EAT THAT IS BEING FORTIFIED WITH VITAMIN B AND FORTIFIED WITH CALCIUM?  WELL, ALL OF THOSE NEED TO BE ABLE TO SIT ON THE SHELF  FOR A VERY LONG PERIOD OF TIME BECAUSE IT MIGHT TAKE A WHILE BEFORE YOU GET TO BUY THAT BOX OF CEREAL OR BUY THAT LOAF OF BREAD , OR BUY THOSE CHIPS OR BUY THOSE CRACKERS. AND WHO ARE YOU PROBABLY FEEDING THAT STUFF TO?   YOUR KIDDOS, YOUR BABIES. IT'S GOT SYNTHETIC VITAMINS IN THERE.

SO PLEASE, DO YOURSELF A FAVOUR. BECOME EDUCATED AND KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THE DIFFERENT FORMS OF VITAMINS BECAUSE THERE IS A TRUE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ALL-NATURAL AND SYNTHETIC.
AND THE SYNTHETIC VERSION IS REALLY CREATING A TOXIC OVERLOAD ON YOUR BODY SYSTEMS AND IF IT'S CREATING A TOXIC OVERLOAD ON YOUR SYSTEM, JUST THINK WHAT IT IS DOING TO YOUR KIDS.

FIND A VERY GOOD, HIGH-QUALITY ALL-NATURAL SUPPLEMENT THAT CAN MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN YOUR LIFE AND HOW YOU FEEL ON A DAILY BASIS.

YOU JUST READ THE TRANSCRIPT FROM HEALTH HACK FOR BUSY PEOPLE.
 
What Is Methylcobalamin?

Methylcobalamin circulates through the bloodstream and is one of two naturally-occurring coenzyme forms of vitamin B12 that the body utilizes. Adenosylcobalamin is the other form sometimes used in the dietary supplement industry. The body needs B12 to convert homocysteine to methionine, protect DNA and RNA, support energy, protect nerve and brain cells, stimulate serotonin production, contribute to red blood cell formation, support immune function, and maintain a positive mood.

What’s So Great about Methylcobalamin?

Hydroxocobalamin is the main B12 form found in meat, fish, and dairy products. Cyanocobalamin is a common but synthetic B12 that is often added to foods, and the body must use precious energy to convert this form into methylcobalamin. This B12 form has a higher stability and bioavailability and doesn’t require conversion. These next 4 facts will explain the benefits of methylcobalamin.

1. Increases Available Physical Energy

Every chemical reaction in the body expends energy. When the body needs to convert a vitamin into a form the body can use, this reaction also requires energy. For example, supplementing with the cyanocobalamin form of B12 requires the body to expend energy that removes the cyanide molecule and replaces it with a methyl group. Taking methylcobalamin as a B12 supplement eliminates the need for this extra chemical reaction.

 

2. Encourages Detox

Methyl groups activate hundreds of chemical reactions throughout the body. One such process includes triggering detox reactions. This includes the removal of heavy metals, environmental toxins, and waste products.

3. Supports Brain and Nerve Health

Methylcobalamin is the only form of B12 that can cross the blood-brain barrier without assistance or conversion. Its methyl group stimulates serotonin creation, a neurotransmitter responsible for mood support. It also works directly on brain cells to protect against damage from excitotoxins. ^[1] Researchers have found large doses of methylcobalamin may offer therapeutic value for those suffering from ALS and multiple sclerosis. ^{[2] [3]} This is the only form of B12 that acts on the nervous system.

4. Neutralizes Homocysteine

High homocysteine levels is undesirable and known to be an indicator of heart disease and stroke risk. Free homocysteine in the blood causes sclerosis of the arteries, putting strain on the vascular system and the heart. One of the primary reactions of methylcobalamin is to convert homocysteine to methionine, reducing the potential for damage. Outcomes from this reaction include the formation of cysteine, a precursor to the super-antioxidant glutathione. Methionine also contributes to the formation of adenosylcobalamin, the other form of B12 used by the body in mitochondrial energy creation, the foundation for all human energy.

Supplementing with Methylcobalamin

Methylcobalamin supplementation has exploded in popularity. It’s the most functional B12 supplement because it’s already in bioavailable form, the body does not need to convert it. This offers a huge advantage over other types of vitamin B12. Sublingual supplementation of methylcobalamin is one of the most common ways it’s taken because of the quick absorption. When you’re deciding on a B12 supplement, find one that combines both methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin. I developed a formula called VeganSafe™ B-12, which not only offers both of these forms of B12, but is also vegan friendly and produced in the USA. It truly is the best quality B12 supplement available and we’ve gotten incredible feedback from our customers who’ve tried it.

References (3)

1. Kikuchi M, Kashii S, Honda Y, et al. Protective effects of methylcobalamin, a vitamin B12 analog, against glutamate-induced neurotoxicity in retinal cell culture. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 1997 Apr;38(5): 848-54.
2. Izumi Y1, Kaji R. Vitamin B12 metabolism and massive-dose methyl vitamin B12 therapy in Japanese patients with multiple sclerosis. Intern Med. 1994 Feb;33(2):82-6.

Have you supplemented with methylcobalamin? How did it go? Share your thoughts and comments below.


Vitamin B-12 warning: Avoid cyanocobalamin, take only methylcobalamin


(NaturalNews) One of the pitfalls of pursuing a healthy diet is that we are sometimes blind to nutrients we may be missing. And in the world of healthy eating, one of the most common nutrient deficiencies involves vitamin B-12, a crucial nutrient for nerve health and the construction of red blood cells that carry oxygen throughout your body.

Vitamin B-12 deficiency is especially common among vegetarians and vegans, but it's also surprisingly common in meat eaters, too. Why? Because vitamin B-12 can only be absorbed in the small intestine, and due to common intestinal ailments, even many meat eaters who consume high levels of B-12 are unable to absorb it in their gut.

This leads to a series of seemingly "mystery" health symptoms that actually have a simple common cause: Vitamin B-12 deficiency!

Symptoms of B-12 deficiency

B-12 deficiency is shockingly widespread. Studies now show that up to 40% of the population may be deficient in vitamin B-12 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7595423.st...).

Here are some of the most common symptoms of deficiency (do you experience any of these?):

* Chest pain or shortness of breath
* Fatigue or unexplained weakness
* Dizziness, trouble with balance, and fainting
* Confusion, memory loss or dementia
* Coldness, numbness or tingling in the hands and feet
* Slow reflexes or diminished nervous system function
* Pale skin or yellowing of the skin
* Sore mouth and tongue

... in addition, vitamin B-12 deficiency can actually cause brain shrinkage, according to a University of Oxford study (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7595423.st...). Although more work needs to be done, research is already suggesting a link between vitamin B-12 deficiency and Alzheimer's.

If you (or someone you know) shows any of the symptoms listed above, I urge you to immediately investigate vitamin B-12 and determine if a deficiency in this nutrient may be causing your symptoms!

Again, vitamin B-12 deficiency is especially common in vegans and vegetarians because typical vitamin B-12 sources (meats, yogurt, etc.) are simply not present in their diets. But even meat eaters can be deficient in B-12 due to poor digestion. This is especially true for older people who suffer a diminished ability to absorb nutrients in their small intestine.

In addition, diabetes medications and even pain pills can interfere with B-12 absorption, and intestinal parasites can also strongly block its absorption in the gut.

Solutions for vitamin B-12

Traditionally, people who are deficient in vitamin B-12 have received injections of B-12. This is extremely effective because it bypasses the digestive tract and goes right into the bloodstream. But it has one obvious downside: It requires being injected! So most people aren't interested in this method.

Instead, most people supplement their vitamin B-12 using nutritional supplements. But here's where this can go wrong: The most commonly available form of vitamin B-12 on the market is the cheap synthetic form that's actually bound to a cyanide molecule (yes, cyanide, the poison). It's called cyanocobalamin, and you'll find it in all the cheap vitamins made by pharmaceutical companies and sold at grocery stores and big box stores.

Action item: If you have any vitamin B-12 supplements, check the ingredients label right now to see what form of vitamin B-12 they contain. If they contain cyanocobalamin, throw them out!

Cyanocobalamin is a cheap, synthetic chemical made in a laboratory. It's virtually impossible for you to find this form in nature. Low-end vitamin manufacturers use it because it can be bought in bulk and added to products with claims that they "contain vitamin B-12!" What they don't tell you is that the vitamin is bound to a toxic, poisonous cyanide molecule that must then be removed from your body by your liver. Cyanocobalamin is also up to 100 times cheaper than the higher quality methylcobalamin which we'll talk about below.

As Wikipedia explains: "A common synthetic form of the vitamin, cyanocobalamin, does not occur in nature, but is used in many pharmaceuticals and supplements, and as a food additive, because of its lower cost. In the body it is converted to the physiological forms, methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin, leaving behind the cyanide..." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_B12)

Removing the cyanide molecule from the vitamin and then flushing it out of your body requires using up so-called "methyl groups" of molecules in your body that are needed to fight things like homocysteine (high levels cause heart disease). By taking low-quality cyanobalamin, you're actually stealing methyl groups from your body and making it do more work at the biochemical level. This uses up substances such as glutathione that are often in short supply anyway, potentially worsening your overall health situation rather than helping it. This is one of the reasons why low-grade vitamins may actually be worse for your body than taking nothing at all!

Cyanocobalamin, in summary, is a low-grade, low-quality and slightly toxic (cyanide) form of vitamin B-12 that's used by all the cheap vitamin manufacturers. I recommend avoiding it completely. It won't kill you to take it, of course, but there's a better solution for B-12.

The better choice: Methylcobalamin

The proper form of vitamin B-12 to supplement is called methylcobalamin. This is the form that exists in nature, and it is pre-methylated, meaning it's ready for your biochemistry to put to immediate use. Methylcobalamin has several key advantages over cyanocobalamin:

* Increased absorption
* Better retention in tissues
* Contains no toxic cyanide
* Supports production of SAMe

As explained by Ed Sharpe:

"The coenzyme form of vitamin B12 is known as methylcobalamin or methyl B12. It's the only form of vitamin B12 which can directly participate in homocysteine metabolism. In addition, converting homocysteine to methionine via methyl B12 generates an increased supply of SAMe (S-adenosyl methionine), the body's most important methyl donor." (http://www.health101.org/art_methylcobalamin...)

Every informed nutritionist knows that methylcobalamin is far superior to cyanocobalamin. That's why companies like Ola Loa (www.DrinkYourVitamins.com) use only the high-end "methyl" form of B-12.

Why 99% of vitamin B-12 supplements are wasted

Taking vitamin B-12 as an oral dose is largely a waste of money. As much as 99% of what you swallow is not even absorbed... it's just passed through your body. (http://www.health101.org/art_methylcobalamin...)

There are really only three methods for absorbing vitamin B-12 that reliably work:

#1) B-12 injections.
#2) Sublingual absorption.
#3) Skin absorption.

B-12 injections obviously require injections from a trained medical professional, so few people pursue this route. Sublingual absorption is a viable route, but nearly all the sublingual B-12 products use the cyanocobalamin form of the vitamin (with the cyanide molecule).

A vitamin B-12 skin patch is now available that delivers methylcobalamin through the skin, using a small medical-grade patch placed behind the ear. Each patch delivers 1000 mcg of methylcobalamin (1,666% DV) in a steady release over a 1-2 day period, after which the patch may be removed and discarded.

In addition to methylcobalamin, each path also delivers 400mcg of Folic Acid (another form of a B vitamin), which is widely known to work synergistically with methylcobalamin to help support healthy heart function and nervous system function*.

B-12 energy patch works through skin absorption

The B-12 Energy Patch is available now in packs of 8 patches (a 1-2 month supply) from the NaturalNews Store. This 8-pack carries a list price of $39.95, but through our volume purchasing, we are able to offer it to NaturalNews readers at 53% off the list price.

When purchased in a 3-pack (total of 24 patches), the price is lowered even more to 57% off the list price.

Click here to see the products in our store.

* These products are not intended to treat, diagnose, prevent or cure any disease.

What customers say about this B-12 patch

(From Amazon.com) For me a much better alternative to effective sublingual pills

"B12 is running low in my family tree. A couple of relatives have been regular at getting B12 shots. I never felt like I needed the shots, because I thought I could get by with red meat, liver and sublingual pills. I decided to try the patches just to see... I did not expect them to be more effective than sublingual pills.

I must say I was wrong. From the first patch I noticed the boost, which is at first more subtle than the more noticeable boost of the sublingual pills giving you more B12 in a shorter time span. But it picks up over time and feels way more efficient. By way of example, I used the big plate in my road bike and did not pant at the top of three bad climbs hours after getting the patch. To get this kind of effect with sublingual pills after getting low of B12 would take over ten days for me and quite a bit of dedication remembering to keep supplementing. It can get rather tedious waiting for the pills to dissolve under the tongue.

The second day I used two patches right behind the ear, but they both fell off, presumably from the sweat biking. Yet the day before the one patch I tried less close to the ear stayed put biking and after two showers, and I had no dropped patches since. If you exercise, watch out for areas where sweat would accumulate.

I think there is no comparison between this brand and the other one advertised. For four bucks more, you get half the patches and the wrong type of B12 -- cyanocobalamin instead of methylcobalamin. Read about it because cyanocobalamin has to be turned into methylcobalamin by the liver. You can spare that. My doctor put me on cyanocobalamin initially and I turned to methylcobalamin with much greater results. Also, this brand I review has the daily allowance of folic acid as an added bonus (read up on the benefits of taking folic acid with B12), rather than selenium.

I've had no side effects and no skin reactions with this product. I am so satisfied I have ordered a B-complex as a patch from a different company. It is advised to have a B-complex if you supplement in big doses with any vitamin of the B family."

Click here to get these vitamin B-12 patches.

They're on sale now at an incredible price through the NaturalNews Store.

Whatever form of vitamin B-12 you use, remember this: avoid cyanocobalamin! (Unless you enjoy eating cyanide, that is...)

Additional sources for this story include:

http://www.dadamo.com/B2blogs/blogs/index.ph...

Ting R, Szeto C, Chan M, Ma K, Chow K (2006). "Risk factors of vitamin B(12) deficiency in patients receiving metformin". Arch Intern Med 166 (18): 1975–9
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abs...
 

Digestive Intelligence: A Holistic View of Your Second Brain

Each Human has two brains, one in the skull the second brain is in your digestion gut system. 



Digestive Intelligence tells the fascinating story of how our digestive systems are the centre of our bodies’ second brain and how we think and live our emotions via our stomachs.

Not impossible when you consider there is something equivalent to the size of a village football pitch hiding inside our bellies – that’s the incredible magnitude of our digestive systems. They contain an extensive network of nerve cells, called neurons, which carry information to the brain and thus have a profound effect upon our intellectual, emotional and immune processes.

Dr Matveikova answers the obvious questions: “How?” and “Why can this be so?” by explaining, in straight forward layman’s language, that the digestive system contains more than one million neurones, identical to those in the brain and is responsible for producing 90% of the body’s hormone, serotonin, the all-important hormone which makes us feel happy and full of wellbeing. It follows, that if our stomachs are “out of sorts” we can feel irritable, in a bad mood, lacking in energy and those feelings will block our intellectual productivity, tend to disorientate us and completely change our thought patterns and physical processes.

Click Here to See Inside and read the book . 

Page 13 : Preface

The other day my bank branch manager (who also happens to be an obedient patient of mine) : "I could never have been a doctor! You have too much responsibility for the health and life of others: I would feel dreadful. In the bank I can do something wrong, make an error, and nothing happens that I can't put right, but with the health of a human you can't make too many mistakes." 

Modern society demands much of a doctor. We want to have the brilliant Dr. House as our GP and to stay in good health with a minimum visits to the doctor's office, without taking pills and without suffering discomfort or pain. 

Working in a bank you comply with financial regulations and the orders you are given, which leaves little room for any doubts; you do what you are asked to do, day after day. A visit to the doctor, however, is optional, not obligatory: you can postpone your checkups and ignore your problems if you want, and you can find fault with your practitioner and not follow your doctor's instructions. 

Society doesn't force you to take care of yourself and to stay in good health. The most it does is to suggest and advise, but nobody make sure  that you are fit and well. It's not like that with bills and bank statements. To your bank manager, you are transparent and the diagnostic is always clear. To your doctor, you are a tired and secretive person with a series of problems that not even the doctor knows how to begin to deal with. Are you going to listen to the doctor and carry out the doctor's orders?

To stay in good health and prevent the development or advance of disease is your prerogative, but if you don't choose this course, society won't cast your out. On the contrary, it will look after you as best as it can -- even if you think the care you are given is  not sufficient. In Europe and most other western countries, when you fall ill, medical attention and hospital treatment will be provided. Your bank, on the other hand, will  throw you out and close your account. At a medical center, though, that is not our way; we are there to help you. 

When you go to your bank, your are prepared and are already informed about the subject in hand. There is no reason why you cannot do the same when you come in for a medical consultation. Experts say that 80 percent of the care that a chronically ill person needs can be provided  by himself, if he is a given adequate preparation and training. They also estimate that 90 percent of the illnesses and the problems that cause people to visit doctors could be prevented by following a healthy diet, doing a minimum of         activity, and observing basic hygiene. 

  For  doctors to be precise in their work and able to help their patients, they need enough space in their busy schedule for those 10 percent of cases that really need serious assistance. If the remaining 90 percent could be educated about health and personal care, imagine how helpful that would be. 

  Complaining about doctors, the current health system and long waiting lists for tests only leads to anxiety and frustration, and in the short term will not improve things. So why not take another approach and get to know yourself?


Our Second Brain and Digestive Intelligence
by Irina Matveikova.

Remarkable as it may sound to you - our digestive system has a very sophisticated design, complexity and intelligence! It acts independently and so specifically in every single person that we professionals, are regularly surprised by its behaviour. The digestive tract has always been overlooked and almost ‘discriminated’ against; treated as some less important part of the body because it appeared to be very primitive and basic in its functions. The gut was frequently considered be totally unattractive, dirty and an object of shame.

The general public used to ignore the digestive system and treat it as ‘must function’ in spite of everything thrown its way - from a bad diet and lifestyle, to abuse of alcohol, medications, smoking and drugs; until the stomach would protest and manifest extreme symptoms of pain, bloating, diarrhoea and many other problems.

So then it had to be ‘shut down’ with symptomatic treatments. People did not pay much attention to digestive discomfort; removing this temporary upset was sufficient and they never looked more deeply into the reasons behind their own digestive rebellions. Hopefully, and thanks to the last 20 years of medical research, we have changed our vision and our knowledge about digestive functions. This precious system was finally plucked from obscurity and is now positioned in its rightful place and attracts a lot of attention from scientists.

We have a true second brain in our guts; its neuronal function is very similar to the brain in our heads. Inside our belly is an extensive network of neurons located between the two muscular layers of the walls of the digestive system. Moreover, the structure of these digestive neurons is identical to that of the neurons in the brain; both produce similar chemical molecules, neurotransmitters and hormones, which are mostly necessary for our intercellular communications and the correct functioning of the entire body. In medical science our second, digestive, brain has a name: the Enteric Nervous System (ENS).

According to new data, the total number of neurons (brain cells) found in our ENS is more than one hundred million. This figure represents a considerably higher number of neurons than in the spinal cord, for example. The brain in our gut is the main production line and storage centre for many neurotransmitters. These substances regulate our moods and our emotions, physical and our psychological well-being.

The presence of such a wide variety of neurotransmitters in our intestines is a clear indication of the complexity of the rich digestive language that is spoken from our gut and of its ability to carry out neuronal functions and express its own emotions.
In 1999 it was revealed that 90 percent of serotonin (the famous ‘happiness’ hormone) is produced and stored in the intestinal walls! Only the remaining 10 percent of the body’s serotonin is synthesized in the neurons of the central nervous system - the cerebral brain - or our ‘higher brain’.

The minimal amount of serotonin in the higher brain is, nevertheless, of vital importance to human beings. It performs various functions including regulating our ‘good’ moods (that calm, relaxed sensation and feeling of wellbeing), sleep, and muscular contractions. It also intervenes in cognitive functions such as memory and learning. Serotonin is the ‘messenger of happiness’, and we do, indeed, have a sea of this substance stored in our digestive system. If we could just learn how to utilize and to mobilize the tremendous neurological and hormonal potential of our gut!

So, how can we take advantage of this valuable resource and make the best use of it for our mental and digestive health?
This is a truly challenging task for researchers.  That is why scientists and the pharmaceutical industry are currently devoting so much of their research and testing to Neurogastroenterology - a new branch of medicine that studies our Second Brain and its role in health and diseases.

Each of us from time to time has a ‘gut feeling’, a warning that comes from deep inside and can often appear in intense or extreme emotional situations. This is our second brain talking to us. It said that our second brain is more authentic, more sincere and more connected to our true inner feelings than the cerebral brain; and, furthermore, is the more rebellious one of the two. It evades any social influences, logic and our even own mental powers. If our gut nervous centre suffers neurosis, then it’s clear we should definitely not ignore it and, indeed, we cannot afford to do so because it sends us signals about our true state of health and mind.

Additionally, it is the centre of our intuition, premonition, control, fear, hidden obsessions, etc. Our digestive neurological language can present itself as a whole range of sensations: from a pleasurable thrill to a nervous knot, a hollow feeling, or a pain. So we had better stop for a while, to analyze its message and to correct the problem. The digestive system has great plasticity and capacity for recuperation and would be truly thankful - in only two-three days - for a more careful diet, good sleep, relaxation and a basic balancing of your lifestyle. We can afford this short break and self-care, can’t we?



In my book, Digestive Intelligence, you will find many tips about how to detoxify your gut and liver, how to organize your detox diet, to nourish your systems and even how to breathe correctly. I do encourage you to learn to interpret your gut signals and to understand the origin and mechanisms of your stomachs upsets and try to correct and to control them in a preventive and holistic way.
Although Western medicine has only recognized the ‘second brain’ recently, in Eastern medicine the belly has long been viewed as the vital centre of the human organism. Traditional Chinese medicine recognizes the gut as ‘the centre of energy, the sea of qi’. Qi is the vital energy, force, or impulse. In contrast to the energy controlled by willpower or ‘doing’, the qi in the belly is felt and allowed to come. Ideally, we should be in contact with this centre (the gut itself) and concentrate on its energy.
In Japanese martial arts, the hara represents the belly, man’s centre of being, the sea of qi.  To be hara-centered is equivalent to an optimal state of health and integration of all the bodily systems, longevity, and wellbeing. It leads to a general state of serenity and profound calm, awareness, reason, personal power, and balanced action.
Those with weak hara have fragile health, get angry and lose their temper easily and, when faced with adversity, they quickly lose their self-control. The expression ‘to be centered’, or in contact with our internal energy, has a lot to do with having a balanced and healthy digestive system, in the language of Western medicine.

Once again I would like to emphasize that there is a direct connection between the psyche and the stomach. Many intestinal problems can be explained by the malfunctioning of the intestinal brain, or by interferences in its communication with the higher brain. The gut brain is where fear, anxiety, or phobias originate, along with excessive control or obsessions, and also premonition, apprehension, and intuition. Scientists consider that the abdominal brain can also memorize certain emotions, childhood traumas, experience stress, and suffer its own psychoneurosis.
Nowadays we know that there is constant communication between the two brains: the one inside our skull and its brother down there in our gut and the influence travels in both directions.  I can assure you that the relationship between the two brains, which involves hormonal, metabolic, and emotional levels, is very complex—we could even call it intellectual; it is also normally quite democratic and mutually respectful.
And now we are about to discover even more secrets about our digestive world. 
New and astonishing scientific news reveals how our intestinal microbiota (the universe of bugs that lives inside our belly) influences all the functions of our entire body.

So much so that Digestive Intelligence can now be interpreted as a gut-brain-microbiota axis!

Mounting evidence is suggesting that particular aspects of human health and disease may be attributed to the trillions of microbes that inhabit our gastrointestinal tract, collectively referred to as the gut microbiota. We have more microbes in our body than the amount of our own cells. Or, put another way, we could even consider ourselves more bacteria that human! Our dependence on our ecology and the universe of bugs that cover us from inside and outside is vital.
So the microbiota associated with the human body are now being intensively studied in both aspects: as a risk factor for disease and a modulator of health and ageing. The organisms that live inside our innards contribute not only to each others function and survival but humans have evolved to depend on the extensive physiology and metabolism that microbiota provides. The power of the gut bacteria in regulating human health cannot be overestimated.

Consider this: the number of unique genes contributed by our gut inhabitants is greater by 150-fold than that encoded within the human genome. The human body uses the sequences of bacterial genomes for its own metabolic, regenerative, immune and nutritive needs. We cannot live a healthy, or a long life without the help of our bacterial universe. Mapping of the bacterial genome of each person can give us information about their health risk of different diseases, body weight and longevity tendencies and even character.  Pretty soon we will have our own bacterial identification code, which is going to be a unique digital signature. And medical genetic engineering will begin to use the extended genome of our gut microbiota for future treatments, which will bring about a quantum revolution in modern medicine.

However, digestive pathology is already growing at such an incredible speed in our Western world that currently every second adult suffers from digestive troubles. How we can stop this fast-track growth? What do we need to learn, in order to put the brakes on this rapidly spreading epidemic? It is already becoming clear to many of us that stress, tension, never-ending work and responsibilities exhaust the body and the mind and cause the systems of the body to start to fail; beginning primarily with the digestive and psychological functions.
So what realistically can we do? To stop the world and change our lives seems impossible. Medications don’t appear to be the solution to everything, either. Current studies and research in biotechnology and modern neuroscience are very important and hold great promise for the medicines of the future but it is early days yet, in terms of their practical application.
In my professional opinion, the future is in education and prevention. Each of us has to discover own health potential, learn how we function and question what is causing our health problems.  Let’s be curious about how to care and prevent and how to do things in a very practical and positive way.
No unified formula of diet, exercise or magic pill exists. Instead, we have to be self-aware and regularly perform a technical inspection of our ‘life vehicle’ (our body) by doing the detoxing and nourishment programme that I write about in my books. There, you can learn how your gut directly influences your character, behaviour and even your immune defence system. You’ll also be able to recognize the complexity of your relationship with food and discover more about the different types of intolerances and sensitivities.
You’ll know more about the connection between gut health and allergies, mental disorders, obesity, depression and, even, cancer.  We have the internal mechanisms we need for recovery and cure. Our body talks to us and warns us. If we could just decode its signals and take notice of them, then we would be much stronger and healthier.

Welcome, to your own new world of Digestive Intelligence!