The gut-brain axis...a specific example

We hear about this “gut-brain” connection or axis all the time, but do we know what it actually means? We know that the brain and the gut are constantly in communication, in both directions, through the central nervous system (the spinal cord), and through the nervous system of the gut itself. We also know that the state of the microbiome - all those bacteria we give a home to - can have a huge influence on mental health.

This study of this last field – how the microbiome affects the brain – is in its infancy. Over the years to come we are going to discover so much more about how the very flora of our guts affects our brains. We already know for example that over 90% of serotonin (your "happy" neurotransmitter) is produced in the gut. What else might be going on?

We are beginning to find out about how dysbiosis, or imbalance in the gut flora, can have a negative impact on the brain. One very, very specific mechanism that illustrates this is that clostridia – a very common microbe that comes in lots of different forms, you’ve probably heard of c. difficile – can block dopamine - a key neurotransmitter of focus, motivation and reward. Let’s look a bit closer.

A client recently ran an organic acids test. This test looks at metabolites of various bodily processes – we pee out organic acids, it’s a urine test, easy to take a sample. This particular client had organic acids in their urine that suggested a clear clostridia presence – have a look at marker number 16 below (it's 423, top of the range is 102):

Ok, so what? Symptoms of clostridia might include “mild to severe diarrhoea, a high temperature (fever), loss of appetite, feeling sick, and tummy pain or tenderness” (google AI summary). Yep, client has some of those. But he also has severe difficulty focussing for any length of time, some depression, hyper-vigilance, and OCD-like tendencies.

One thing we have discovered in this new field of gut-brain axis study is that clostridia blocks the enzyme DBH (dopamine beta-hydroxylase) – don’t worry about the name. This enzyme converts dopamine into noradrenaline (norepinephrine if you’re American) – see diagram below. What might happen when this enzyme is blocked? Yep – some of the symptoms listed by my client, dopamine dysregulation type stuff, inability to concentrate, etc.

The other indicator that this enzyme was blocked was that the other dopamine pathway – via DOPAC (36 below) and HVA (33 here) – the organic acids were high for the client:

So what’s the solution? Work on calming the nervous system, for sure – so getting out in nature, meditation, breathwork, taking time out. But also, quite clearly, heal the gut, work on lowering that clostridia and levelling up other good guy bacteria. What was it Hippocrates said? “All disease begins in the gut”? Well, here’s a clear example of that.

This is ONE tiny way that gut health affects brain health. Want to find out more for yourself? Please go and book a discovery call and we can have a chat about what might be going on for you.

Marie