Stress is a huge player in the gut-brain axis.

Digestion is the root of health. Science backs this ancient truth. There is endless research and of the human microbiome. That ‘gut feeling’ is your enteric nervous system at work. Stress impacts appetite and immunity. In fact, 80% of our immunity and neurotransmitters come from the gut. Cardiovascular health, memory, and mood all rely on the gut. Improve mood, memory and focus by getting to know your 2nd brain. It’ll show you the life you’ve always wanted.

7 Tip for Seasonal Depression (SADD)

by Amber Wood | Nov 19, 2018 | Gut Brain Axis

Seasonal Affective Disorder is Real Millions of people experience the winter blues. This type of depression is known as SADD. There are several interventions that can help and even reverse SADD. Winter is an excellent time to get extra support either from a...

Depression, Allergies or High Stress? Time to Boost Methylation

by Amber Wood | Nov 5, 2018 | Gut Brain Axis

Optimizing methylation can help with depression, stress, allergies and even asthma. A recent meta analysis showed "consistently lower methylation levels observed at all associated loci across childhood from age 4 to 16 years in participants with asthma." I am...

Gender, Bias & the Brain

by Amber Wood | Oct 25, 2018 | Gut Brain Axis

Our brains adapt to early life experiences by creating imprints. We have many imprints both positive and negative that become part of how we see the world. The interesting part is our brains can change. The brain's ability to reorganize and form new neural...

Glycine or Collagen?

by Amber Wood | Oct 17, 2018 | Gut Brain Axis

Glycine is the Amino Acid that Gives Without knowing it, glycine is helping your body everyday with muscle repair, cognitive function, metabolic health and immunity. This amino acid assists in breaking down glycogen, fat and other nutrients to be used as energy at the...

The Psychology of Your Gut

by Amber Wood | Aug 3, 2018 | Gut Brain Axis

Have You Heard of Psychobiotics? The microbes in our gut have far reaching psychological effects. In 2013 there was a ground breaking study proving that depressed mice were positively affected by a strain specific probiotic. Around the same...

Heart Health 101

by Amber Wood | May 16, 2018 | Eat for a Healthy Gut, Gut Brain Axis

Suppressing symptoms with pharmaceuticals to treat high blood pressure or cholesterol means missing the investigation as to why these are high in the first place. We know that blood sugar issues and metabolic syndrome contribute to heart disease. In fact there are...

Five Key Habits for your Brain and Cognitive Function

by Amber Wood | May 16, 2018 | Gut Brain Axis

Brain health is influenced by many factors and we know there are a few habits that support long term function. The inflammatory cytokine model of depression shows the influence diet has on cognitive function. Omega 6 oils are linked to depression and are...

CBD is Changing The Game

by Amber Wood | May 13, 2018 | Gut Brain Axis

CBD (cannabinoid) is a natural, safe, and effective. Its affect includes reducing inflammation, pain and seizures. There is evidence that it may inhibit cancer growth. It certainly helps with nausea and other side-effects of chemotherapy including loss of appetite. ...

Mould and other Biotoxin Illness

by Amber Wood | May 4, 2018 | Gut Brain Axis

As you many of you know I've been going on meditation retreats for many years. Recently I was the health person on a retreat where mould illness was affecting three people. Another member of our community is literally debilitated from mould illness so it's quite...

What about Anxiety?

by Amber Wood | Apr 27, 2018 | Gut Brain Axis, Home Page Featured

The Gut-Brain Connection Infections and other imbalances in the gut result in an inflammatory response in the brain. The inflammatory cytokine theory is well established in the scientific literature and is being embraced as the number one cause of depression. But...

Kids are at Risk

by Amber Wood | Apr 23, 2018 | Gut Brain Axis

Given the trends that we see in the general population towards a sedentary lifestyle it's not surprising our kids are less active than ever before. What are the health implications exactly? What can we do to change this? Do It Yourself Kids pick up on everything so...

Love Your Liver: Enjoy Looking & Feeling Your Best

by Amber Wood | Apr 18, 2018 | Gut Brain Axis

Lifestyle Medicine Your Liver As it warms up its easier to get outside more and get moving. Discovering ways to stay active all year long is important for many reasons. Organ health is at the top of that list. Our livers do more for us than any other organ. Caring...

What Happens When We Get Sick

by Amber Wood | Mar 30, 2018 | Gut Brain Axis

Immunity, Iron & Infections Bacteria love iron so your body will remove it from the blood and store it in the liver. This is why its important to check if anemia is due to chronic disease, iron deficiency or another cause. White blood cells are produced to destroy the...

Protect Your Brain and Keep Your Memory

by Amber Wood | Dec 6, 2017 | Gut Brain Axis

There are 44 million people currently experiencing alzheimers or dementia worldwide. There are a number of steps you can take no matter where you are in life to prevent and even reverse memory problems. Regulate blood sugar. Processed foods reduce insulin...

Antidepressants That Work

by Amber Wood | Nov 27, 2017 | Gut Brain Axis

Modulating your gut flora has far-reaching benefits for your emotional and cognitive health says a study published by Trends in Neuroscience. This study uses the term psychobiotics to describe how prebiotics and probiotics affect the brain. The central nervous...

Do you have Candida? Or is it SIFO?

by Amber Wood | Oct 16, 2017 | Gut Brain Axis

Symptoms like chronic yeast infections, brain fog and sugar cravings can indicate dysbiosis or an imbalance in the gut microbiome. About 20 years ago candida albicans began receiving a lot of attention. For awhile there it was the cause of a long list of ailments...

Get Your Appetite Back on Track

by Amber Wood | Sep 25, 2017 | Gut Brain Axis

What makes us hungry? The neuroregulation of appetite is getting a lot of press these days. The epidemic of diabetes grows and even young people are suffering the effects of obesity. Researchers are hell-bent on finding solutions. Our bodies have a feedback loop...

Is fungal overgrowth really the underlying cause of chronic sinusitis?

by Amber Wood | Sep 14, 2017 | Gut Brain Axis

Chronic sinusitis is unbelievably common. This is a condition termed in the medical literature as chronic rhinosinusitis or CRS. My five year old son has some dry inflammation in his sinus cavity. When I've taken him to get it checked out conventional medicine offers...

What is Methylation? Why is it so Darn Important?

by Amber Wood | May 25, 2017 | Gut Brain Axis

A process that occurs in the body a billion times a second, is good to understand if you are interested in health. Poor methylation can affect the brain, the gut, and the liver. This is just the beginning. Methylation repairs DNA, turns genes on and off, fights...

Rewire the Brain to Break the Trauma Cycle

by Amber Wood | Mar 31, 2017 | Gut Brain Axis

Stress and trauma change our brains. Any human, when squeezed hard enough, experiences overwhelm. What’s interesting is how we respond to trauma. Any moment that is too overwhelming at the time lives within us until the are the resources to integrate it. Every person...

Do You Suffer From SIBO?

by Amber Wood | Mar 6, 2017 | Gut Brain Axis

Is Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth Affecting You? In a healthy state, the small intestine has a low bacterial count. An overgrowth creates a condition called SIBO. Mild to severe digestive discomfort including gas, bloating and pain results. Bacteria is swept...

Building a Healthy Gut Ecosystem

by Amber Wood | Feb 13, 2017 | Gut Brain Axis

A key differences between the way our ancestors ate and our modern diet is how much fermentable fiber we consume. Fermentable fiber is found in processed or acellular carbohydrates. We all know that vegetables and fruits are important for health. But which ones and...

What causes leaky gut and how can you recover?

by Amber Wood | Jan 24, 2017 | Gut Brain Axis

People ask me as many questions about leaky gut as candida. Candida is fairly simple. It is just one of many microorganisms that can be causing problems. Candida received enough attention in the last 20 years that people associate any gut imbalance, overgrowth or...

Our Gut-Brain Axis: IBS, Depression and Anxiety

by Amber Wood | Dec 13, 2016 | Gut Brain Axis

Due to the amount of neural tissue found in the digestive system many now refer to the gut as the second brain. Intuition, gut feeling and butterflies in the stomach all describe this. Neurons don’t divide or regenerate. We begin losing them as soon as we are born....

New Research and Insight into Irritable Bowel Syndrome

by Amber Wood | Oct 26, 2016 | Gut Brain Axis

Digestive distress is real. It can be debilitating and expensive. Irritable bowel syndrome is the second cause of missed work days. In the U.S. over 30 billion dollars in medical costs each year are spent on IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). The worst part is this leads...

The Popular Myth of Acid Reflux

by Amber Wood | Jul 20, 2016 | Gut Brain Axis

The Truth about Acid Reflux Most people believe that acid reflux or heartburn is caused by too much acid in the stomach. This idea is supported by drug companies who make billions each year off of acid suppressing pharmaceuticals. The problem for patients is these...

Why Probiotics Aren’t the Answer

by Amber Wood | Apr 15, 2016 | Gut Brain Axis

Where Probiotics End & Fermentable Fibers Begin Probiotics serve us by regulating the immune system, promoting anti-inflammatory pathways and supporting the environment for beneficial bacteria to thrive. However they do NOT quantitatively increase the number good...

Is it Time to Reset your Health?

by Amber Wood | Mar 7, 2016 | Gut Brain Axis

The momentum of the seasons is as old and ingrained as the earth itself. Life is pushing from darkness of winter or gathering of the autumn harvest. By riding this wave we have the opportunity to replenish and renew ourselves for the next cycle that's coming. I'll be...

Your Gut Bacteria Sleeps Depending on When You Eat

by Amber Wood | Mar 2, 2016 | Gut Brain Axis

http://utmj.org/index.php/UTMJ/article/view/1645 Bacteria Need “Sleep” Too?: Microbiome Circadian Rhythmicity, Metabolic Disease, and Beyond Mark Trinder, Jordan E Bisanz, Jeremy P Burton, Gregor Reid Abstract Humans contain an “organ” composed of 2-6 pounds of...

The Human Microbiome

by Amber Wood | Jul 26, 2015 | Gut Brain Axis

We hear more and more these days about changes in the human microbiome and the importance of gut health. There are many products offering probiotics. Recently I noticed a government sponsored ad warning of the overuse of antibiotics. Is it really this simple? The root...