ANGER / RAGE - Poor Judgement or Poor Gut Health?

Hello everyone! I hope you are all keeping well and safe. I’m sure most of you have read and heard enough about Covid 19. However, when you learn of a loved one being struck by it, the pain of its reality returns quickly.

Every battle is challenging but when we are faced with an enemy that is a virus, what do we do? I want to encourage us all to continue with the protocols of washing our hands, wearing masks and keeping safe distances. It is a good time to fortify our immune system as much as possible. Please refer to my posts on herbs & spices and essential oils.

“The same chemicals found in the brain are also produced in the gut, their availability to the brain is largely governed by the activity of gut bacteria, and we are forced to realise that ground zero for all things mood-related is the gut.” - David Perlmutter

Now to the business of the day, I have been trying to find the link between what we eat and our moods for quite a while because it really puzzled me that during the years I had HBP, I was quick to become irritable and impatient. I’m happy to know that it was not a figment of my imagination.

For those who have not read my post: My Guts Feelings - What happens in Vagus does not stay there, this may be a good time to read it as this is somewhat, a follow-up on it.

Anger is a strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure or hostility. Anger is a natural, though sometimes irrational emotion that we all feel from time to time. Just like fear, anger is a response to threats or stressors in the environment. Also like other emotions, anger is experienced in our bodies as well as in our minds. 

Anger starts in the part of our brains called the amygdala. The amygdala is the part of the brain responsible for identifying threats to our well-being, and for sending out an alarm when threats are identified that results in us taking steps to protect ourselves. The amygdala makes us react before we can check the reasonableness of our reaction (the cortex is the part of the brain responsible for thought and judgment). 

This is not an excuse for behaving badly, it just means that anger management is not intuitive but a skill to be learnt. People with damage to this area of the brain sometimes have difficulty controlling their emotions, particularly anger and aggression.

Our brains control our senses, thoughts, movements, breathing etc round the clock even whilst we are asleep. Hence, the brain needs to be constantly nourished and that is from the foods we eat. That means, what we eat directly affects the structure and function of our brains. 

Eating wholesome food nourishes the brain and protects it from oxidative stress and diets high in processed foods are harmful to it. If free radicals circulate within the enclosed space of the brain, there may be brain tissue injury.

Today, the medical field is acknowledging the connection between food and mood. Nutritional psychiatry is finding there are many correlations between what we eat, how we feel, how we behave and the kinds of bacteria resident in our guts. Nutritional psychiatry not only recognises the relationship between the mind and the body, between how we feel and how our body’s been fed—it suggests that this relationship is the greatest tool we have for keeping our minds and our bodies healthy at any age.

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps regulate sleep and appetite, manage moods and inhibit pain. About 95% of serotonin is produced in the guts which is lined by numerous nerve cells, it makes sense that the digestive system does more than digest food. It guides emotions too.

Can the foods we eat make us angry? Research suggests what we eat can have a direct influence on our mental state and behaviour. An excessive consumption of processed food can lead to aggression, irritability and violent tendencies.

Nutrient is a major cause of behavioural abnormalities. Without the proper nutrients, the body is unable to produce the appropriate chemicals and hormones required for clear thinking and healthy mood, which in turn can lead to irrational and even dangerous behaviours”.

There are too many reasons to eat healthy and I have written on quite a number that it will be heartbreaking to know of any member of the ‘Rejuvenatedlifebyashe’ family that is yet to get on board. You can add a merry heart to the list.

And the next time you come across or are faced with an angry person, rather than react, you should just wish them well because that may be truly all they need.

“You can’t control what goes on outside, but you CAN control what goes on inside.” 

Till next week, Eat well and Be Happy!