Conscious Choice: Gut Wisdom

March 1996

Gut Wisdom

by Jim Slama

Have you ever wondered why some decisions are best when you follow your gut instinct? Unfortunately in our highly technologized world, listening to our gut is not high on most people’s priority list. From a logical perspective, why should we? Conventional scientific doctrine indicates that the brain is where the important stuff happens. A clear thinking person is one who follows the guidance of his or her thought process — using rational techniques to come to formal decisions.

But recent scientific evidence has thrown a monkey wrench into this mechanistic view of decision making. In a groundbreaking New York Times story, Sandra Blakeslee disclosed that new scientific evidence is giving credence to the notion that the human body actually possesses two centers to process knowledge and dictate physical actions. Blakeslee reports:

[Scientists say] that the body has two brains — the familiar one encased in the skull and a lesser known but vitally important one found in the human gut....The gut’s brain, known as the enteric nervous system, is located in sheaths of tissue lining the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and colon. Considered a single entity, it is a network of neurons, neurotransmitters and proteins that zap messages between neurons, support cells like those found in the brain proper and a complex circuitry that enables it to act independently, learn, remember, and as the saying goes, produce gut feelings.

This disclosure didn’t come as any surprise to Alyce Sorokie, President of Partners in Wellness, a natural health center on Chicago’s north side. She teaches a workshop entitled Gut Wisdom that helps people get in touch with the knowledge available in the belly. "In many other cultures, especially those in which people are more in touch with the natural world, the gut is acknowledged to be a source of spiritual knowing," she says. "Thus, paying attention to the instinctive feelings present in the belly is akin to connecting with inner truth, or, gut wisdom."

A Culture Out of Touch
A close look at the lifestyles and physical makeup of our neighbors supports the premise that our culture is, for the most part, out of touch with its gut. The evidence is overwhelming. According to a February 1995 Harris Poll, seventy-one percent of Americans are overweight — a twenty-twp percent increase in only twelve years. In fact, as a country we have one of the highest levels of obesity of any culture in the world.

The standard American diet (SAD) is a significant contributor to our problems. Typical meals are loaded with processed foods, saturated fats, and artificial chemicals even though most of us know that the best foods to eat are fruits, vegetables, and whole grains that are minimally processed and free of artificial chemicals.

In his book, Staying Healthy With Nutrition, Dr. Elson Haas describes the chemical onslaught we face:

The food industry uses about 3,000 different food additives in a wide variety of packaged and preserved foods.... The average American consumes nearly 150 pounds of food additives per year [including sugar and sweeteners, salt, enriched vitamins, flavors, preservatives, and colored dyes.] Besides the acknowledged additives, there are about 12,000 other chemicals that contaminate our food during the various stages of propagation, growth, harvesting, packing, shipping, and preparation. These chemicals include sprays and pesticides, many of which are more dangerous than food additives.

Adulterated food is only one reason Americans are out of touch with the second brain. Sorokie blames other factors for this problem as well. "Substances like alcohol, drugs, caffeine, and other stimulants or depressants disconnect us from the body and actually numb us out. These substances may literally separate you from the knowledge present in your belly."

The prevalence of food allergies and candida are other indicators of the digestive woes running rampant in our culture. Millions of people report intolerances to wheat, dairy, soy, corn, and other dietary staples and according to health professionals, far more people actually suffer from food allergies than are indicated. Candida is an excess of a certain type of yeast in the digestive system, a possibly debilitating disorder that afflicts a significant number of Americans. Both candida and allergy problems can cause severe effects, including symptoms such as bloating, anxiety, fatigue, poor concentration, sinus problems, aches and pains, puffy eyes, blurred vision, diarrhea, constipation, lethargy, or hyperactivity.

Sorokie thinks that these problems have an emotional component, too. She remarks, "As children we are taught to ignore our feelings, something which directly impacts our emotional well being. One side effect of ignoring feelings can be the restriction of breath. This stops the movement of the diaphragm whose job physiologically is to massage the lower organs."

As emotional repression becomes habitual, its impact also shows in the body. "These chronic held emotions are locked into the body, and over time they can disrupt normal functions. As these things become habituated, the nervous system interprets these chronic holding patterns and responds by creating tightness and tension in the musculoskeletal system.," says Dr. Dan Fedeli of the Balancing Center. "Because these defensive responses have been interpreted as necessary for survival, the physical changes can be difficult to release and can lead to numerous woes including immune and digestive system problems."

These physical and emotional elements can play a direct role in our relationship with food and eating. Leslie Karen Sann, who leads the workshop, Living Thin Within, that helps people examine their habitual patterns of eating. "Habits are something that are unconscious," says Sann. "When our eating becomes habitual, we lose the opportunity to be present in the process and miss the opportunity to hear our bodies messages about food."

A Healing Path
So how do we get back in touch with our gut wisdom? It is not necessarily an easy process, but I’ll give you a hint. The solution lies somewhere between your chest and your hips.

Fedeli sees bodywork as an integral part of this process. "In some cases, people have developed a body armor as a result of their past physical and emotional problems. This armor holds negative emotions and leads to structural problems," he says. "Chiropractic or integrative bodywork can help reprioritize the body so that it can be more responsive to what it really needs rather than holding onto these habitual patterns. It can also potentially help to reframe negative emotions."

Sorokie recommends a multi-phase cleansing program."The process will allow you to look hard at your physical and emotional state of being," she says. This type of cleanse may involve techniques such as supervised fasts, modified diets, colonics, and supplementation with herbs or other nutritional support products. Other aspects of cleansing can include drinking vegetable juices, receiving massage, and increasing water intake.

Dr. Elson Haas is nationally known for his expertise in these types of solutions. In the March/April Natural Health he says this about fasting:

Fasting gives the body a much-needed break. Our bodies spend a tremendous amount of energy digesting and eliminating the food we eat. Furthermore, since we typically eat more than we need and more than our bodies can get rid of, our organs and cells become congested and work less efficiently. As a result, our cardiovascular system can become clogged with excess fats; our liver can be stressed by the work of detoxifying the additional chemicals; our small and large intestines become inflamed and thus congested by mucus produced to cope with the inflammation; and our immune system can be bogged down from reacting to the many food allergens and foreign substances in our diet. In the end, this cycle of overconsumption and congestion is responsible for many of the diseases that plague us: atherosclerosis, hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, and cancer.

Cleansing and fasting may not be best for people with health problems, however. "You need to be careful when doing a fast," says Sorokie. "People with certain health conditions shouldn’t embark on such a radical change for the body, nor should pregnant women. It is far better to seek professional guidance." To help people learn more about this method of cleansing, one aspect of her "Gut Wisdom" workshop includes a supervised three-day fast, plus a massage and a colon therapy treatment.

Haas claims that fasting allows your body to use surplus energy to cleanse excess toxins and waste from the system. He also sees it as a way to get a psychological boost. "For thousands of years and in virtually every culture, fasting has been used to improve spiritual or physical well-being: Moses, Elijah, and Christ each fasted to become closer to God," he says in the Natural Health article.

"Traditional Asian cultures have long recommended fasting to lighten both mind and body. And for the month of Ramadan, Muslims refuse food during daylight hours to cleanse their hearts and souls."

Leslie Sann’s Living Thin Within support group helps people reconnect with the spiritual aspect of eating. "We need to eat when we are hungry and stop eating when we are full," she teaches. "By learning to eat what our body is needing — not what our mind labels as good, we learn a valuable lesson. With that label cast aside, eating then becomes a joyful pleasure not a burden."

The process of getting in touch with your gut wisdom will take time and perserverance. Sorokie suggests the following steps to get you on the path:

1. State your intention to reclaim the wisdom available in your gut.
2. Do a fast and upon breaking it examine the effects that different foods have on the body and emotions.
3. Psychologically explore the different sensations of the body and learn to access your inner voice. Be curious and playful in this process.
4. Take part in conscious exercise such as yoga, tai chi, dance, or other types that allow you to get in touch with your body and your feelings.
5. Pay attention to your breath and learn to bring it deeper into your belly, fully utilizing your diagram.
6. Honor that this is an ongoing process.

Reference "Complex and Hidden Brain in the Gut Makes Cramps, Butterflies, and Valium," Sandra Blakeslee. New York Times, Tuesday, January 23, 1996. p. B5. [return to story]

Chicago Resources
Dr. Dan Fedeli, The Balancing Center. 773-327-3333.
Leslie Karen Sann, Living by Design. 847-622-5314.
Alyce Sorokie, Partners in Wellness. 773-868-4062.

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