Clocking in at 3-5 pounds, your #microbiome weighs about the same as your #brain. 🧠⠀ ⠀ And with a large majority of these #microbial partners residing in your #gastrointestinal #tract, we’re starting to realize that the #gut behaves more like a ‘second brain’ than we knew. Our gut #microbiota play a vital role in our #physical and #psychological #health via its own #neural #network: the enteric nervous system (ENS), a complex system of about 100 million nerves found in the lining of the gut. These neural #circuits control the gastrointestinal system from #mouth to intestines, and along with #hormones and #chemical #neurotransmitters, constantly provide #feedback to the brain.⠀ ⠀ They signal to our brain through stimulating our vagus nerve when we’re full. They’re responsible for the #sensation of #nervous #butterflies, or the pit in your #stomach, innate parts of our psychological #stress responses. They are capable of producing #serotonin (#happy #feels 🤗) to affect our #mood or #ap...