An Astounding Discovery:  Gut Flora Influences Brain Development

The degree to which the human genome relies on the genomic activity of the foreign contents within the digestive tract is only now revealing itself to the new tools of scientific exploration.  The new science suggests that how your digestive tract evolves¹ in the first few years of life can influence the health of your brain and your behavior for an entire lifetime. This is a stunning finding, with major implications to our understanding of health and disease. 

Packed into the 3 – 5 pounds of contents within your digestive tract are ten times the number of foreign cells (bacteria, yeast, etc.) than comprise your entire body. Additionally, this diverse population of foreign inhabitants possesses one hundred times the genomic signaling activity of your entire human genome.  Mapping the human genome and now attempting to map the far more complex gut genome is the new frontier of science. It has already become clear that the human genome relies on the gut genome to produce a variety of signals that sustain human health.  In essence, the human genome uses the gut genomic activity as “worker bees” to sustain the queen bee (your body). This has clear survival advantages. If your human genome had to do all the work itself it would require too much energy.

We have known for many years that disturbances within the digestive balance of power influences or causes almost every disease. I like to say that bad gangs set up shop in your digestive neighborhoods, often warring with each other. This nasty state of affairs not only generates excess toxic trash that often enters your general circulation but the gene signaling from the gang warfare causes immune system malfunction both inhibiting normal immunity and causing autoimmune reactions, allergies, asthma, and obesity.

However, this latest research is entirely new in our understanding of what is going on. It is saying that the contents of your gut and thus the type of gut genomic signaling that is going on while your brain is setting up shop in the first few years of life has a profound influence on how your brain functions then and later in life.

The new study is with mice that are bred to have no digestive bacteria. Scientists can then introduce the bacteria or not, creating a wide range of fascinating scientific experiments, all the while comparing them to mice with normal gut flora, and all the while measuring genomic signaling. In the current study researchers found that the no-bacteria mice grew up and had much more hyperactive and risky behavior as adults. If they were given normal bacteria early in their life then they grew up with the same normal behavior traits of control mice. If they were given normal bacteria later in life the hyper/risky behavior was already established. I’m giving you the simple explanation of the study; it was done using advanced genomic monitoring to see what was going on.  It was clear that the gut genomic signaling was influencing brain development.

“The data suggests that there is a critical period early in life when gut microorganisms affect the brain and change the behavior in later life,” says Dr. Rochellys Diaz Heijtz, first author of the study.  “Not only are signal substances like serotonin and dopamine subject to regulation by bacteria, synapse function also appears to be regulated by colonizing bacteria,” continues Prof. Sven Pettersson, coordinator of the study.

In other words, the proper formation of brain structure and the healthy plasticity of nerve networks are influenced by gut bacteria. While this is an animal study there is no data to indicate that this is also not the case for humans – to the contrary, this goes a long way towards helping to explain a great deal of human mental health issues and may shed a new understanding on how such problems get started. Extrapolating on the meaning of the data would certainly suggest that antibiotics, which disrupt normal bacterial evolution in the digestive tract, could be a significant cause or contributor to autism, ADHD, mood disorders, and generally lessened cognitive ability.

The proper development of the digestive tract is vital to immunity, digestive health, and likely brain health. Poor quality diets that depress immunity and lead to antibiotic use can send a person into a lifetime path of poor digestive function, poor immune function, and poor brain function.  I’ve seen this a countless number of times.

If you’ve had to use antibiotics with a child then ensure you do everything to get their digestive tract back in better health.  Minimally, this is using friendly flora and may require additional steps with safe and health-promoting natural remedies to both bolster digestive function and immunity (so that antibiotics aren’t “needed” again). The reckless practice of medicine is fueled by the reckless practice of parenting. Unfortunately, the new data indicates that mistakes early in life can last a lifetime.