4 ms·

I'm in the same boat, there's a lot of movement in the field of hunger/digestion recently: * Your stomach contains a functional brain with ~25% of the neurons

by iaw 10y ago

I'm in the same boat, there's a lot of movement in the field of hunger/digestion recently: * Your stomach contains a functional brain with ~25% of the neurons of the one in your head * Gut microbiomes have widespread impact on physical and mental health We need ~20 amino acids and some micro-nutrients to meet our nutrition needs (to our current knowledge). The microbiome adapts to break down different food sources into these nutrients and the body will adapt if it lacks certain nutrients but functionally wont work as well. The idea that there's a signaling mechanism between all of these systems to encourage the right type of consumption is rationally sound.

TheSpiceIsLife 10y ago
Small nitpick, it's the Enteric Nervous System, and the numbers go something like this: "The enteric nervous system in humans consists of some 500 million neurons[6] (including the various types of Dogiel cells),[1][7] one two-hundredth of the number of neurons in the brain, five times as many as the one hundred million neurons in the human spinal cord,[8] and about 2/3 as many as in the whole nervous system of a cat."[1] I'm on board with this pet theory too. For example, we know that the micronutrient Chromium is required in the range of 50 - 200 micrograms per day, and that it is essential for sugar and fat metabolism and that most people ingest less than 60% of the minimum recommended (less than 50mcg) per day.[2] It makes sense to me that the body would induce hunger in an effort to take in enough food to meet a micronutrient deficiency > that this mechanism is derailed by the SAD (Standard Affluent Diet) > a negative feedback loop is induced. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enteric_nervous_system https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enteric_nervous_system 2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9380836 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9380836

by iaw 10y ago

TheSpiceIsLife 10y ago

Small nitpick, it's the Enteric Nervous System, and the numbers go something like this: "The enteric nervous system in humans consists of some 500 million neurons[6] (including the various types of Dogiel cells),[1][7] one two-hundredth of the number of neurons in the brain, five times as many as the one hundred million neurons in the human spinal cord,[8] and about 2/3 as many as in the whole nervous system of a cat."[1] I'm on board with this pet theory too. For example, we know that the micronutrient Chromium is required in the range of 50 - 200 micrograms per day, and that it is essential for sugar and fat metabolism and that most people ingest less than 60% of the minimum recommended (less than 50mcg) per day.[2] It makes sense to me that the body would induce hunger in an effort to take in enough food to meet a micronutrient deficiency > that this mechanism is derailed by the SAD (Standard Affluent Diet) > a negative feedback loop is induced. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enteric_nervous_system https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enteric_nervous_system 2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9380836 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9380836