That our health and body chemistry affects our mental processes, is not unreasonable to expect. More interesting would be if this goes the other way.. do our belief systems and rationality have a profound impact on our body chemistry?
For instance, I wonder if being rational and self-aware drives our digestive system to become clever over time.. consider that we may have a hoard of gastric juices which our body tries and tests on various kinds of foods, keeps a track of which works better, and adapts accordingly. It may also try to create newer juices and see how they work.. At the extreme end, we would be leading our body to set up a gastrochemistry lab in our guts.
Another example: I hope that studying computer science may lead one’s own brain to apply those concepts to optimize one’s neural connections in some way.. give us ‘speedup’, so to say.
More interesting would be if this goes the other way.. do our belief systems and rationality have a profound impact on our body chemistry?
Some of the articles describe the symbiosis as a two-way communication. For example, the article I mention at the end goes on to say:
There are several mechanisms by which stress can alter
the bacterial composition of the GI tract, including changes
in epithelial cell function and mucus secretion as well as
changes in GI motility.
41,43,44
As described, release of norepinephrine into the GI tract during stress might preferentially stimulate the growth of specific strains of bacteria as
well as their ability to adhere to the mucosa.
32–34
That our health and body chemistry affects our mental processes, is not unreasonable to expect. More interesting would be if this goes the other way.. do our belief systems and rationality have a profound impact on our body chemistry?
For instance, I wonder if being rational and self-aware drives our digestive system to become clever over time.. consider that we may have a hoard of gastric juices which our body tries and tests on various kinds of foods, keeps a track of which works better, and adapts accordingly. It may also try to create newer juices and see how they work.. At the extreme end, we would be leading our body to set up a gastrochemistry lab in our guts.
Another example: I hope that studying computer science may lead one’s own brain to apply those concepts to optimize one’s neural connections in some way.. give us ‘speedup’, so to say.
Some of the articles describe the symbiosis as a two-way communication. For example, the article I mention at the end goes on to say: