Preventing Migraine by Healing the Gut

[Guest guest]

Preventing Migraine by Healing the Gut

By Tom Staverosky

Is it possible that the best way to prevent migraine is to improve digestive

function? This creative approach has its roots in the growing field of

neurogastroenterology and is showing exciting results in the work of

ForeverWell,

a nutritional supplement company with a unique concept.

The debate has continued for a long time. Is migraine a vascular/circulatory

disease or is it a neurological disease? While there is no conclusion as to

the root cause of the problem, the research increasingly leans in the

direction of a neurological disorder.

Medical research is a slow methodical process. The occasional news stories

offering us hope in the treatment of chronic medical conditions are a mere tip

of the iceberg. The detail of most research never reaches us and if it does

it seems so obscure and unrelated to our current health needs as to seem to

be a waste of time and money. Fortunately, some of this esoteric work opens

doors of possibility and windows of opportunity.

Such is the case with the developing work in the field of

neurogastroenterology, or more simply put the brain in our gut. In an attempt

to alert us all

to the possibilities and opportunities of this work Michael D. Gershon, MD,

the recognized father of neruogastroenterology, has published a fascinating

book, The Second Brain. The subtitle, Your Gut Has a Mind of Its Own, begins

to

suggest some of the implications of this evolving field. Some of the more

intriguing facts of this enteric nervous system, extracted from Dr. Gershon's

preface to his book, include:

* 95% of the body's serotonin is made in the bowel.

* There are more than a hundred million nerve cells in the human small

intestine, a number roughly equal to the number of nerve cells in the spinal

cord. Add on the nerve cells of the esophagus, stomach, and large intestine

and you find we have more nerve cells in our digestive system than in our

spine.

* The enteric nervous system is a vast chemical warehouse within which

is represented every one of the classes of neurotransmitter found in the

brain.

* The multiplicity of neurotransmitters in the bowel suggests that the

language spoken by the cells of the enteric nervous system is rich and

brain-like in its complexity.

 

The History of the Gut Brain

Our nervous system is divided into two general categories, the skeletal, or

voluntary, which is under our conscious control and the autonomic, or

involuntary, which runs the body's systems on a subconscious level. A search of

a

medical school text book on the autonomic nervous system as recently as five

years ago will reveal just two components to the autonomic nervous system, the

sympathetic, and the parasympathetic with no mention of the enteric system.

This is particularly surprising when you read Gershon's history of the gut

brain and realize it was discovered 100 years ago.

Neurogastroenterology really started with Bayliss and Starling, two

investigators who worked in nineteenth century England. They were the first to

observe " the law of the intestine " , now known as the peristaltic reflex. They

correctly attributed peristalsis (the muscular movements that propel the

contents

of the intestine in a startling one-way direction) to nervous system

function. The discovery that most surprised Bayliss and Starling was that when

they

cut all central nervous system connection to the animal guts they were

studying the peristaltic reflex continued. They knew that if they were to cut

all

the nerves to limbs or other organs all reflex would be lost. Reflex behavior

anywhere but the gut always involves the participation of the brain or spinal

cord.

Simply put, if eliminating any possibility that the central nervous system

was responsible for " the law of the intestine " , Bayliss and Starling concluded

it was controlled by the " local nervous system " of the gut.

A couple decades later, in 1917, UlrichTrendelenburg, a German scientist,

suspended a guinea pig's intestine on a hollow J-shaped tube in an organ bath.

This nutritive solution, supplied with oxygen, allowed the intestine to

survive for several hours. When Trendelenburg blew into the J-shaped tube the

gut

blew back, which indicated the same reflex behavior that Bayliss and Starling

had observed in an intact dog. In Trendelenburg's laboratory, the brain,

spinal cord, and sensory ganglia had all been discarded with the rest of the

guinea pig. His experiment was revolutionary because he had demonstrated that

the local nervous system of the gut actually had properties that are like those

of the brain and the spinal cord.

Texts at the turn of the century considered three aspects of the autonomic

nervous system, the sympathetic, the parasympathetic and the enteric.

Gershon's history suggests that the enteric system fell by the wayside as the

neurotransmitters for first the parasympathetic, acetylcholine and then

sympathetic,

norepinephrine were discovered and embraced. It seems that this neat package

of two systems and two signaling chemicals fit the logical scientific

thinking in a way that resulted in the disappearance of the enteric nervous

system.

The Rediscovery of the Enteric Nervous System

Enter Dr. Gershon and his work, which began in the 1960's and reached a

critical moment in 1981. He was convinced that the enteric nervous system was

largely independent of the central nervous system and functioned with a new

neurotransmitter, serotonin. At the meeting of the Society of Neuroscience in

Cincinnati in November of 1981 Dr. Gershon presented his work opposite his

principal critic. Imagine his surprise when his opponent rose to present his

most

recent research confirming that Dr. Gershon was correct, serotonin is indeed

an enteric nervous system neurotransmitter.

Thus began in earnest the acceptance of the second brain in the gut. The

research has expanded by leaps and bounds and while much has been learned as is

true with a lot of medical research, the more that is learned the more we

realize how little we know. Some of the more intriguing bits of new knowledge

include:

* The same type of tissue damage that is found in the brain of

patients with Parkinson's disease has also been found in their enteric nervous

system.

* The enteric nervous system has more in common, both chemically and

structurally, with the brain than with the remainder of the peripheral nervous

system. It looks as if it were a brain gone south. As a result, it is to be

anticipated that illnesses of various types that occur in the brain will also

involve the enteric nervous system.

* New studies demonstrate that the mucosal release of serotonin is

important not only in signaling within the bowel to initiate peristaltic reflex

and sensory reflexes but also in sending messages from the gut to the brain.

* Serotonin regulation in the gut and brain is accomplished by cells

that reuptake excess serotonin when its job is complete. The drugs developed

to treat depression such as Prozac inhibit the reuptake of serotonin. While it

is not clear why this lifts depression, the drugs exert a similar effect on

the reuptake of serotonin in the gut, which seems to be responsible for the

gastrointestinal disturbance suffered by many who use anti-depressants.

* The digestive system works with a complex array of balancing and

counterbalancing mechanisms designed to create the environment needed to digest

and absorb various necessary nutrients. While we understand these mechanisms

in general there is much to learn about the specifics of their actions and

interactions.

 

Implications For Migraine Sufferers

How does all this relate to the prevention of migraine? One possibility is

being pursued by our company ForeverWell. Considering the similarities of the

brain and the enteric nervous system, and realizing that some brain centered

medical problems had manifestation in the gut we wondered what impact we

could have on migraine disease by improving the relative health of the

digestive

system.

We designed targeted nutritional supplements to support improved function of

the gut and its principal supportive organ, the liver. We conducted an open

label outcome based study utilizing the Migraine Specific Quality (MSQ)of

Life Questionnaire (version 2.1, copyrighted 1992, 1996, 1998 by Glaxo

Wellcome,

Inc. Research Triangle Park, North Carolina). You can link to a copy of the

study as it was published in the peer-reviewed journal Alternative Medicine

Review at our web site

_www.foreverwell.com_ (http://www.foreverwell.com/) .

The bottom line of our efforts is that by the end of the 90-day study, 60%

of the 40 participants were no longer getting headaches, 20% experienced a

reduction in duration and frequency and 20% saw no improvement.

Based on Dr. Gershon's book we can suggest several possible reasons for this

improvement. Perhaps within an improved digestive system the production and

balance of various neurotransmitters essential in nerve stimulated biological

response is improved. Is it possible that enhanced digestion allows the body

to function more smoothly, that underlying dysfunction is mitigated when the

body is getting what it needs? These are just two explanations to consider.

I will leave it to the research community to continue to open the doors of

possibilities.

On a broader scale one cannot read The Second Brain without getting the

picture that the body is a vast array of interconnected mechanisms that allow

the

human organism to survive and thrive. The exciting aspect of this vision of

the body is that everything that happens within one aspect of the organism

has repercussions in some other area of the organism. In other words,

everything effects every other thing. In a medical system that is increasingly

compartmentalized into specialties, there is little acknowledgment of this

interconnection. For example, the neurologist rarely considers what the

gastroenterologist knows to be of value to his work and vice versa. A system

evolving to

recognize and benefit from a vision of the interconnected body will serve us

all well.

Clearly, the work we are doing at ForeverWell is an example of the value of

understanding the body as an interconnected organism. The bottom line for any

migraine sufferer is to eliminate the headaches. This new approach to a

nutritional preventive is certainly an option to consider

 

No information in this letter should be construed as medical advice.

This information is for educational purposes only.

 

Jeff Frankel

10360 Pine Lakes Blvd

North Fort Myers, Fl 33903

239-731-2655

http://www.msprotocols.com/

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Someone wrote asking my opinion about the therapeutic concepts that

Jeff has been advocating here. First it must be said that these

concepts are not TCM. They are related to the teachings of the

modern Naturopaths. I have a lot of experience with these

therapeutic theories, as my Father is a well-known Naturopath. Many

Naturopaths (not my Father) use therapies like fasting, enemas,

purging (colon cleansing), sweating, etc. All of these therapeutic

concepts have been around for thousands of years - my Father always

has taught that the most natural way that humans and many other

mammals deal with disease or discomfort is to stop eating.

 

These concepts are ancient and have great usefulness in the healing

process when used appropriately for the carefully chosen case.

Example - Ayurveda has a very carefully developed scientific therapy

that uses massage and sweating as a basic technique for stimulating

circulation - eliminating toxins - draining the lymph system - etc.

The problem with these techniques is that they are not indicated in

a great percentage of modern cases. In fact they are definitely

contraindicated and could be very harmful - especially as these

techniques are frequently improperly and excessively used.

 

From the TCM perspective most 'draining' therapies are

contraindicated in the majority of modern cases simply because the

patient is already suffering from various defeciencies the majority.

In these cases the most important limitation is Yin deficiency

(Jing - or Kidney Yin deficiency)- since these people have already

exhausted and or stressed the Kidney functions and must be very

careful not to drain any more Yin from the body. Even overweight

people are suffering from severe Yin deficiency so for many

overweight people fasting and colon cleansing are definitely

contraindicated. TCM considers that in deficiencies of all types the

Jing fluids must be protected and conserved and stress to the

Kidneys (including excessive loss of semen and sweat) must be

reduced to the extent possible. My Father has forbidden these types

of therapies to most of his patients for many years.

 

The correct approach to these issues is to support digestion (which

in TCM includes the entire digestive tract as well as the Liver,

Spleen, and Lungs)- excess dampness or dryness of the stomach must

be corrected - we must improve bowel movements which primarily means

improving the functions of the Liver and Spleen as well as

reestablishing the proper relationship between the Liver and Spleen -

the deficiencies must be supplemented and the excesses slowly

drained (without creating stress). In such cases as an example herbs

to 'seep' the dampness will be used instead of those herbs

that 'drain' the dampness - the difference is in degree of

aggressiveness in removing the excesses (this really takes

experience and careful observation by the practitioner) -

harmonizing herbs are always used. The correct approach to basic

digestive issues is to eat correctly - large percentage of digestive

problems come from wrong eating. We must study the 'true' needs of

the Stomach and Spleen - most foods of modern society are harmful to

the Stomach and Spleen, which are the primary sites of early

digestive imbalances. This is why many great physicians have said

that most disease starts in the Stomach. Because of the frequently

seen cases that have both excess and deficiency one must be careful

not to aggravate either. The Qi must be developed to it's proper

functioning before the digestive system is going to function

properly. Simply draining the excesses is much to simplistic an

approach to the majority of complicated cases. It will not be

possible to develop the Qi without first supplementing and

stabilizing the Yin functions.

 

In general all cold or deficiency states regardless of any excesses

they may have should not receive these therapies.

 

In western countries a clinician sees many cases of total exhaustion

caused by draining therapies. Many people who consult TCM

practitoners are those who are severely depleted from fasting, raw

food diet, sweating therapies, sexual yoga (improperly practiced),

purging, etc. These are among the most difficult cases to manage

because of the difficulty in rebuilding the Yin reserves.