How Your Nervous System Affects Your Digestion

How Your Nervous System Affects Your Digestion

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When digestion feels unpredictable, the temptation is to focus exclusively on food. Perhaps you consider what you ate, what you shouldn’t have eaten, and what might need to be eliminated.

Sometimes those details matter, but there’s another layer that often explains why the exact same meal feels fine one day and not the next.

Much of digestion is guided by the vagus nerve, one of the main pathways of communication between the brain and the gut. It helps coordinate stomach acid production, enzyme release, gut motility, bile flow, and the body’s shift into a rest-and-digest state after eating.

When that signaling is disrupted, digestion can feel slower, noisier, and more reactive regardless of what’s on the plate. Here’s a deeper look at how the vagus nerve affects digestion and what can support its function.

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Don’t Simply Excuse Burps – Explore Them

Don’t Simply Excuse Burps – Explore Them

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Do you find yourself having an issue with burping? It can be distressing. Most in the United States would not consider burping to be good manners or fitting a professional setting. But I suggest you don’t simply excuse burps. Instead, don’t simply excuse burps – explore them.

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Are you one of the 60 million Americans who experience acid reflux? I'm guessing that your primary concern is to extinguish the pain.

Extinguish the Pain!

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Are you one of the 60 million Americans who experience acid reflux? It used to be primarily an issue for those over 50, but it now is seen in every race, gender and adult age group. No matter the demographics, I’m guessing that your primary concern is to extinguish the pain.

Why does it hurt so much? That would be the digestive juices from your stomach getting into your esophagus, which lacks the mucosal lining that protects your stomach. Without that lining, juices that pop up through the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) damage the tissue in your esophagus. Read more

Is Heartburn Caused by Lack of Acid?

Is Heartburn Caused by Lack of Acid?

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Do you joke about heartburn? Perhaps it started off as an occasional, nagging burning in your chest and you blamed Grandma’s cooking. Is it still occasional, or has it crept into regular discomfort? Are you wondering if heartburn is caused by lack of acid instead of too much?

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Got the Guts to Be Healthy?

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We all know someone who is making an effort to improve their health. What steps are they taking? Exercising, not drinking sodas, and eating less processed foods are common first steps.

In my years of study and observation, I have come to the firm conclusion that health begins in the gut … and the flip side is equally true … that disease also begins in the gut. Read more

Stoke the Fire and Fuel Your Cells

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stomach-acidThere are several avenues by which the outside world enters your body, including breathing, consuming liquids or solids through your mouth, and absorption through your skin. Digestion is involved when you eat or drink.

Digestion – like breathing – is a process we tend to take for granted, unless you notice signs that something’s amiss.

Have you felt the burn of acid reflux or GERD? Read more