Control del apetito y equilibrio emocional  cuando activa  su nervio vago

Appetite control and emotional balance when you activate your vagus nerve


The vagus nerve, also known as vagal nerves because, in fact, there are two, and perhaps, the main nerves of the parasympathetic nervous system, or more specifically, it is the sensory network that informs the brain of what happens in organs of our body such as the digestive tract (stomach and intestines), lungs, heart, spleen, liver and kidneys.

The vagal nerve(s) are involved in everything from speech to eye contact, facial expressions and even the ability to tune into other people's voices. In recent times, it has taken on special relevance because it is responsible for calming your organs after the stressful adrenaline response of "fight or flight" to danger.

You're probably already realizing that the vagus nerve plays a key role in overall well-being. But guess what, it may also be behind chronic inflammation and pain.

When your vagus nerve is functioning at 100%, you are able to recover more quickly from a perceived shock or danger, whether it's an encounter with a tiger, or simply a perceived threat like panic when speaking in public. If the vagus nerve is in low tone, meaning it's not functioning at 100%, it will have a hard time regulating inflammation, which can lead to damage to organs and blood vessels if the inflammation becomes chronic.

If you are experiencing fatigue, anxiety, digestive issues, food sensitivities, depression, brain fog, or a feeling of despondency, the vagus nerve would be involved and of course, affected.

 

Anti-inflammatory properties of the vagus nerve

The autonomic nervous system of the body controls communication between the brain and the internal organs, such as the heart and intestines. There, as mentioned above, the vagus nerve plays a crucial role in maintaining and/or restoring the body's balance.

Recent research has indicated that the vagus nerve has the ability to reduce inflammation in the body. This anti-inflammatory effect is achieved through different mechanisms, such as the release of cortisol to combat inflammation. Due to the importance of the vagus nerve in the interactions between the brain and the digestive system, it is considered as a possible target for the treatment of diseases of the intestinal tract, such as inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis, among others.

One form of treatment is through neuromodulation, which uses electronic devices, becoming an alternative non-pharmacological therapy for conventional treatments, although more experiments are needed to consolidate its use.

 

The vagus nerve as a modulator of the brain-gut axis in psychiatric and inflammatory disorders

The vagus nerve constantly sends updated sensory information about the status of your body's organs "upstream" to your brain via afferent nerves (which carry information from the periphery to the Central Nervous System). In fact, 80 to 90 percent of the vagus nerve's nerve fibers are dedicated to communicating the status of your viscera to the brain, establishing one of the connections between the brain and the gastrointestinal tract where afferent fibers send updated information about the status of your organs.

There is preliminary evidence to suggest that vagus nerve stimulation may be useful as an additional treatment for resistant depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and inflammatory bowel diseases. This type of treatment increases vagus nerve activity and reduces inflammation in the body, which may help improve resilience. By stimulating certain nerve fibers in the gut, areas of the brain that are important for regulating mood and anxiety may be affected.

Preliminary studies are underway suggesting that certain beneficial gut bacteria, or probiotics, may have positive effects on your mood and anxiety level by influencing the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is linked to better stress management, and activities such as meditation and yoga have been found to increase its activity, which may help improve your ability to cope with difficult situations and reduce symptoms of sadness and anxiety.

The best part of all this is that, just like any other part of the body, your vagus nerve can be strengthened or toned and thus made to function more efficiently.  According to a study published in 2018, toning the vagus nerve increases the body's resistance, that is, the ability to alternate between states of stress and calm. Increased activation of the vagus nerve has also been shown to be anti-inflammatory , which provides overall well-being to the body.

However, it is not a one-day thing. Like any training, it must be stimulated at least once a day, and the more you practice something, the easier it will be for your brain to draw on it in times of need. As you stimulate it, you will be creating new neural pathways that you can access in times of stress or anxiety.

 

The benefits of stimulating your vagus nerve

The vagus nerve can affect both your physical and mental health in several ways. Through vagus nerve stimulation, which can be carried out with an electrical device, but also noninvasively, you can keep it healthy and toned.

The benefits are reflected in:

  • Treatment for epilepsy by minimizing seizures
  • Treating drug-resistant depression
  • Regulation of emotions
  • Stress reduction
  • Reduction of blood pressure
  • Reduction in heart rate
  • Reducing inflammation
  • Treatment of migraine and cluster headaches

Your vagus nerve plays an important role in your body, and to keep it strong and balanced you can do your part by giving your body some key nutrients and adopting certain practices that help you do so.

  

Foods that help tone your vagus nerve

Omega-3s. These are essential fats that the body cannot produce and must obtain from the diet or through supplements. Foods rich in omega-3s include cold-water fish such as mackerel, tuna and salmon, flax seeds and chia seeds. These fats are necessary for the normal electrical functioning of the brain and nervous system. Studies show that omega-3 fats increase vagal tone and vagal activity, thereby helping to reduce heart rate and increase heart rate variability.

Cardiac variability : refers to the time that elapses between heartbeats, the parameter of which reflects the state of the autonomic mechanisms of the heart.

 

On the other hand, both a high-carbohydrate and high-fat diet will alter the signaling of the vagus nerve regarding satiety . A report in the journal Nature published an experiment with rats with obesity induced through these two types of diets and whose results showed that both high-fat and high-carbohydrate diets impair vagus nerve activity.

 

Probiotics. The nervous system of the gut connects to the brain via the vagus nerve, which has been described as "the interface of the microbiota-gut-brain axis."

In an animal study, mice supplemented with the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus experienced several positive changes in vagus nerve-mediated GABA receptors.

GABA receptors in the brain are implicated in mood ; a possible link between intestinal vagus nerve stimulation by L. rhamnosus and increased GABA activity adds to an emerging body of evidence on the potential health benefits of probiotics.

 

Eat fiber. The hormone GLP-1 (Glucagon-like peptide 1) is a hormone that stimulates impulses from the vagus nerve to the brain, slowing down bowel movements and making us feel more satiated after meals. ( study )

Animal studies suggest that fiber may be a good way to increase GLP-1. GLP-1 is synthesized and secreted primarily by enteroendocrine L cells of the gastrointestinal tract. Its secretion is mediated in part by direct sensing of nutrients via G protein-coupled receptors, which specifically bind monosaccharides, peptides, and amino acids, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, as well as short-chain fatty acids.

Foods rich in these nutrients, such as high-fiber products, nuts, avocados, and eggs, also appear to influence GLP-1 secretion and may therefore promote associated beneficial outcomes in healthy individuals as well as in individuals with type 2 diabetes or other metabolic disorders.

  

Practices that allow you to stimulate the function of the vagus nerve

Fasting. Both intermittent fasting and reduced caloric intake have been shown to increase heart rate variability in animals, which is thought to be an indicator of vagal tone.

According to one theory , the vagus nerve may mediate a reduction in metabolism during fasting. Specifically, the vagus nerve senses a decrease in blood glucose and a decrease in mechanical and chemical input from the gut. This appears to increase vagus nerve impulses from the liver to the brain (VNI), which slows metabolic rate, according to animal data.

These animal studies suggest that hormones such as NPY (Neuropeptide Y) increase while CCK (Cholecystokinin) and CRH (Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone) decrease during fasting.

The opposite may occur after eating. Gut-stimulating signals related to satiety appear to contribute to increased sympathetic activity and stress response (higher CRH, CCK and lower NPY).

 

Cold immersion/exposure (cold showers, going outside in low temperatures with little clothing)

Due to the proximity of the vagus nerve to the skin in the neck and head region, the effectiveness of nerve activation and the extent of treatment possible using noninvasive methods are being investigated.

According to an article inwww.icebarrel.com magazine, when the sympathetic nervous system is overactivated, the body experiences “fight or flight” stress. This causes physical stress, but also mental and emotional distress. Low Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is a good indicator of depression and anxiety, and is also associated with cardiovascular disease.

Noninvasive Vagus nerve stimulation has been shown to improve HRV and reduce overall heart rate in athletic recovery, but this has also been found to apply to individuals with habitual daily stress (Buchheit et al., 2009; Jungmann et al., 2018). Cold water immersion is one of the best noninvasive Vagus nerve stimulation methods for reducing daily stress as well as exercise recovery and improved overall fitness.

 

Humming and singing

The larynx is connected to the vagus nerve. When you sing, hum, or say "om," you're activating the nerve. If you're stressed or anxious and need to calm down, try humming—you'll probably notice your heart rate slow down and you'll start to feel yourself relax.

Since the vagus nerve is connected to the vocal cords and muscles at the back of the throat, singing, humming, and even gargling would activate these muscles and stimulate vagus nerve toning.

  

Meditation/mindfulness

Since the vagus nerve is part of the parasympathetic system, it is subject to your respiratory rhythms, that is, it can become agitated or calm depending on the way you are breathing.

Meditation, in general, encourages you to become aware of your breathing and work with it to counteract circumstances that affect you from the outside and teach you to reconfigure your body to keep it stable and your mind clear when facing difficult situations.

 

Slow and deep breathing

A study published in Nature in 2021 found that breathing exercises appear to reduce anxiety and increase parasympathetic activity assessed by HRV (heart rate variation) indices. The results indicated that in both young and older adults participating in the study, LPR (slow, deep breathing) significantly increased HF (high frequency) power and reduced state anxiety.

This would reflect a greater benefit of vagal tone that contributes to improving emotional regulation strategies with age or, possibly, a compensation mechanism that promotes effective anxiety management.

Indeed, the neuro-visceral integration and psychophysiological coherence model indicate that higher HRV (especially in the HF band) is associated with better cognitive performance. Greater vagal activity also predicts better emotion regulation strategies, such as avoiding negativity, but a greater positivism effect in aging.

Finally, from a more clinical perspective, RLP would fit very well among the effective techniques offered as part of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to reduce anxiety, stress or pain in older adults, among others.

 

Exercise

Studies show that exercise and getting your body moving can affect the vagus nerve. Interval training and cardiovascular endurance training can increase vagus nerve activity and improve heart rate variability.

Exercise reduces sympathetic nervous activity and controls the parasympathetic response, so that cardiovascular and respiratory function are balanced.

 

Yoga

According to www.livescience.com , "yoga helps regulate the parasympathetic nervous system by reducing resting heart rate, breathing patterns, and allowing the body and mind to release the stress of everyday life. For these reasons, yoga may help increase resilience to life stressors and self-regulation, thereby increasing vagal tone."

 

Foot massage or foot reflexology

(gentle or firm touch that can contribute to nerve stimulation)

A study published in 2011 by the National Library of Medicine indicates that foot reflexology can increase vagal modulation, decrease sympathetic stimulation, and reduce blood pressure in healthy subjects and patients with coronary artery disease.

Stimulating the vagus nerve triggers the release of oxytocin, which promotes relaxation, healthy digestion, and a general feeling of well-being.

When massage is applied to the feet, stimulating the vagus nerve, this in turn reaches and stimulates all the organs of the body promoting a feeling of well-being.

Now you can see how important optimal health of your vagus nerve is. If it is out of balance, your physical and mental health can be at risk. That is why stimulating the vagus nerve can help enhance the efficient functioning of your entire body.

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