The stomach: the second brain in children and adults
Perhaps you have never heard it, but the stomach is called the second brain of the human body. And in our stomach there are more than 100 million neurons and there is a very close relationship between what happens in the brain and in the stomach. How does this second brain act in children and adults
Perhaps you have never heard it, but the stomach is called the second brain of the human body. And in our stomach there are more than 100 million neurons and there is a very close relationship between what happens in the brain and in the stomach.
How does this second brain act in children and adults when it comes to feeding? Why is it called that way?
Why the stomach is the second brain of children
The stomach has jumped to the informative arena with the title of "the second brain of the body in children and adults", what are the reasons?
- The amount of neuronal connections that exist along the gastrointestinal tract is very high, maintaining a close connection between what in the stomach occurs and the body's operations center, the brain.- The arrival of food in the stomach
produces the release of many hormones, with different effects on the body.- The stomach also has some control over the emotions
, being very different when it is full of when you are hungry. To avoid the bad mood and aggression that generates the empty stomach, and get adequate levels of tryptophan and serotonin that favor relaxation, it is convenient to offer food several times a day to the little ones.- The stomach is in direct communication with the brain
through the neuronal connections and the microbiota, this communication being bidirectional.The functioning of the baby's intestine since pregnancy
In addition, research in recent decades has focused on the importance of the intestinal microbiota, the microbial population that inhabits the intestine, and whose function was, until now, an unknown.
The bacteria present in the gastrointestinal tract are in direct communication with the immune system, considering this the largest organ of the immune system, with approximately 70% of the lymphoid tissue located in this area. If the microflora suffers damage, if there is an alteration in the balance of this ecosystem, it directly affects the body's defenses, and intestinal dysbiosis may occur, related to the appearance of allergies and other types of diseases, especially of the gastrointestinal nature.Pregnancy is the period in which the microbial flora begins to establish in the gastrointestinal tract of the baby that is being formed, and
these bacteria could be the first stimulus for the development of the baby's immune system, protecting against allergies, asthma and other diseases, especially in premature babies. However, the microflora is not established definitively until around 2 years, and therefore, in the first years of a child's life, with its immune system still forming, and its microflora in diapers, it is very important that the feeding ensures a correct contribution of commensal bacteria that are established in the gastrointestinal tract.In the first place, and to maintain the first population that the baby inherits through the mother's side - they go through the placental barrier - breast milk is the ideal food, since
these beneficial bacteria are able to reach it from the maternal intestine, and thus continue colonizing the intestine of the newborn. Subsequently, after the introduction of complementary feeding, a continued supply of live bacteria, from fermented foods, such as dairy products -questions, yoghurts and kefir, for example-, sausages and pickles, among others, ensures that intestinal balance is maintained and establish a healthy bacterial population in the stomach and intestines,allowing the second brain in children and adults to function in tandem with the first.
