What Do Weight Control, Anorexia, Bulimia, and Binge Eating Have in Common?
What weight control, anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating have in common is one's emotional state and gut health. Regardless of what initiated the disruptions in the emotional state and microbiota (gut health), they become self-perpetuating mechanisms if both are not measured, tracked and improved simultaneously. This is why the book “Reprogramming the Overweight Mind” begins with an Emotional Fitness Checklist and then breaks down the components of thought, emotion, and behavior, which empowers you to interrupt, restructure, and reprogram any unwanted behavior.
The Gut Health Variable
When I speak of the gut, I am referring to the approximately 27 feet of intestines between the esophagus and rectum. This part of the body is known as the enteric nervous system (ENS), is lined with approximately five hundred million neurons (brain cells), and has bidirectional communication with the main brain (the one between your ears), primarily through the vagus nerve. This is why some refer to the gut as the second brain.
The microbiota is simply the microbial taxa associated with humans that enable gut-brain communication. There are many different ways the microbiota can become disrupted, which in turn can and will affect your emotional state. The questions on the Gut Health Checklist are symptoms that can arise from a disrupted microbiota. You will want to keep in mind anything from the gut health checklist that may be an issue for you and make it a health objective.
The text on the Step 6 page breaks down multiple gut health mechanisms, including oxalate poisoning, candida, bile sludge, microbiota disruption, mitochondrial dysfunction, and how to correct it. It also includes the tools you will need to get started. The vast majority of MDs, even functional medicine MDs, are unaware of these mechanisms, so feel free to give your MD a copy of this book and let them read it over. Engaging in “Cracking the Gut Health Code” requires the integration of a Functional Medicine MD.
With over half a billion neurons (brain cells) in the gut, it can literally dictate what you are thinking. This is why Step 6 breaks down these mechanisms and how to correct them to regain synchronicity between the two brains. Step 6 is designed to educate you and your MD on the fundamental tests and gut health mechanisms to move forward in this relatively new landscape.
The intestinal microbiome (the cumulative genetic material of the intestinal microbiota) is a complex network of over twenty-two million unique microbial genes that contribute to critical host functions such as digestion and absorption of calories from the gut. The impact of short and long-term diets on the composition of the gut microbiome has been reported, and the relationship between this microbial community and adiposity is well-documented; however, gut microbiota-host interactions have recently become a focus of psychopathology. Over the past decade, gut microbiota-based studies have reported compelling evidence that this complex microbial community regulates anxiety and stress-related behavior.
Additionally, consistent evidence has also identified the gut microbiota as a key regulator of pathways (neurobiological, immune, and inflammatory) associated with the gut-brain axis—a track for bidirectional communication between the central and enteric nervous systems [14].
Gut health cannot be ignored if you want to change any behavior permanently.
References
14. Reed KK, Abbaspour A, Bulik CM, Carroll IM. The intestinal microbiota and anorexia nervosa: cause or consequence of nutrient deprivation. Curr Opin Endocr Metab Res. 2021 Aug;19:46-51. doi: 10.1016/j.coemr.2021.06.003. Epub 2021 Jun 17. PMID: 34458645; PMCID: PMC8386495.
About Kelly Burris, PhD, MSRT
Kelly Burris has defined 'Normal' in an industry that only defines broken or disordered. He is the developer of the empirically sound Subconscious Restructuring™ process and founder of the Burris Institute. With over 250 medical references, Subconscious Restructuring™ represents a scientific breakthrough in mental health, and it has done this without meds, labels, or personal history.
As part of the Burris ecosystem, SR™ Practitioners can manage, track, and interact with current and future clients after certification on BurrisConnect.com. This same ecosystem enables corporate, military, and educational entities to supervise and monitor the performance of their internal Subconscious Restructuring™ (mental health) infrastructure in the cloud. The “Subconscious Restructuring” book and “Reprogramming the Overweight Mind” are now at Amazon.com.