SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Submitted via IRC for Bytram
Germs in Your Gut Are Talking to Your Brain. Scientists Want to Know What They're Saying.
[...] The scientists eventually discovered changes in the brains of these antisocial mice. One region, called the amygdala, is important for processing social emotions. In germ-free mice, the neurons in the amygdala make unusual sets of proteins, changing the connections they make with other cells.
Studies of humans revealed some surprising patterns, too. Children with autism have unusual patterns of microbial species in their stool. Differences in the gut bacteria of people with a host of other brain-based conditions also have been reported.
But none of these associations proves cause and effect. Finding an unusual microbiome in people with Alzheimer's doesn't mean that the bacteria drive the disease. It could be the reverse: People with Alzheimer's disease often change their eating habits, for example, and that switch might favor different species of gut microbes.
Fecal transplants can help pin down these links. In his research on Alzheimer's, Dr. Sisodia and his colleagues transferred stool from ordinary mice into the mice they had treated with antibiotics. Once their microbiomes were restored, the antibiotic-treated mice started developing protein clumps again.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 31 2019, @09:49PM
There may or not be any casual relationship between your possibly being on the spectrum and your eating behavior (aside from your separation from western culture's unhealthy relationship with food as a whole), but I'm pretty certain this:
causes you to reap these benefits:
I've been doing a lot of personal research on these kinds of topics recently, and I'd say that by not eating too much or more often than your body tells you it needs, you're keeping your insulin sensitivity up and otherwise keeping your metabolism healthy. Your periods of fasting, specifically, are giving your system time to recover and clean house. Tons of junk food is not ideal, but a body is able to deal with some curveballs when it's given half a chance!