Have you ever heard of the phrase: "you are what you eat"? Growing up my mother told us about a book she read about the influence of food in our lives. Needless to say, I always heard this saying growing up. I always took this as a metaphor and thought that it was a quirky way to convince us to eat healthy.
Interaction between the digestive system and the brain
A main branch of our nervous system is called the Autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system is the part of the nervous system responsible for control of the bodily functions not consciously directed, such as breathing, the heartbeat, and digestive processes. Read more on this here. A main part of the Autonomic nervous system is the intrinsic, or enteric nervous system. This is specifically the part of your nervous system consists of a mesh-like system of neurons that governs the function of the gastrointestinal tract. Read more on this here.
According to the National Academy of Sciences food that enters the digestive system sends a host of interacting signals to the brain, loaded with sensory, nutritive, and other information. So in essence what we eat significantly alters what thoughts enter our mind, it can alter our mood and even bring into your mind a recollection of old memories. Food inspires and motivates, and depending on what you ate, afterwards, can depress and demotivate.
What makes you, you?
Many people that have taken on this question end up unsure about their answer in the end. In various articles online, I found that people always refer to the body, the brain and what is inside the brain (data) to define YOU. An English Philosopher John Locke (1632–1704), states that man is ‘a thinking, intelligent being, that has reason and reflection, and can consider itself as itself, the same thinking thing, in different times and places.’ In answer to the question "what makes you, you?", the best way I can describe who you are is a combination of thought of your past, present and possible future, that alters the extent to which you can reason, housed in a body that that displays the seen and unseen consequences of a prior and present combination of thought. This question is quite puzzling, and to be honest, it will send you on a wild goose chase to find out what makes you, you, and then you will still be unsatisfied with the answer. Before I fall into the trap and go off on that tangents, let's stick to the first answer as to what makes you, you. A combination of thought, housed in a body. Read more on this here.
If what makes you, you even just involves thought, and if food entering into your digestive system assists in the creation of thought, you actually are what you eat!
Why is this important?
Not only does the food we eat alter our way of thinking, it also alters our body (which some people add into the definition of what makes you, you!). I was reading this interesting article on longevity, and I came across science in its early stages, related to the digestive system, that could assist in longevity. There are not many people, if granted a healthy life, that would not want to live longer.
The following is the caption of the article that I read on Science Daily:
You are what you eat. Or so the saying goes. Science now tells us that we are what the bacteria living in our intestinal tract eat and this could have an influence on how well we age. Building on this, McGill University scientists fed fruit flies with a combination of probiotics and an herbal supplement called Triphala that was able to prolong the flies' longevity by 60 % and protect them against chronic diseases associated with aging.
If I might add : If we are divine in origin and eternal as intelligence then it is this mortal coil which is what we eat, and our mortal sojourn is a growth phase which has tremendous impact on our eternal progress. The choices we make as to what to eat, shape us not only for mortality but for eternity as our thinking and intelligence develops.
These decisions, it has been shown, also change our genetics and together with their influence on our families and others, affect the future of a potentially unlimited host of future beings.
Interesting read @jvanman keeping your body healthy with fresh and balanced meals, a bit of chocolate one a week, dry red wine a night, I hope my bacteria is happy helping me on the path of life.
So many older folks that hit 100 plus (including my aunt) always appear to have some recipe to why they made a good old age without too much going wrong.
Perhaps we are born with longevity, will be interesting to hear what science finds out.
Yeah longevity is quite a topic to delve into. I love old people's remedies and health codes. There is definitely a lot of wisdom there.
Have a good weekend :)
Some good and solid advice! A 100 year old Chinese man was asked about his eating habits and his answer was; "Rice, only rice" Makes one think doesn't it? Blessings and upvoted! @jvanman
Thanks man. My mom also basically only ate brown rice, but it was because she was sick and couldn't eat almost anything else.
Thanks for the UV. Same to u man.
Yes this is as I believe too, but soo tough sometimes. Even though I know to eat healthy, I love me some of that dessert!! A LOT of that dessert!
I would rather get up and run 3 times a week in the early hours of the morning than diet....and by diet I also mean eating right LOL.
This just makes me feel like I need to try harder now :)
Thanks nonetheless