Look At What Disunity or Discrimination Does to Brain Tissue
Self-Esteem Is Good For Your Tissues While Discrimination Sucks
University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences researchers show that people frequently exposed to racial or ethnic discrimination may be more susceptible to obesity and related health risks. This specific discrimination “stress response” changes biological processes and even how we “process and respond to food cues”.
These findings are the first study directly examining the effects of discrimination on responses to different types of food as influenced by the brain-gut-microbiome (BGM) system. The changes appear to increase activation in regions of the brain associated with reward and self-indulgence -- like seeking "feel-good" sensations from "comfort foods" -- while decreasing activity in areas involved in decision-making and self-control.
When we feel discrimination (being Jewish, African American, Muslim, older women, chiropractors, I can go on and on) our brain-gut pathways make us less able to live healthy basics.
Discrimination makes us more likely to see the world from downtrodden less healthy eyes.
Authors state:
"We examined complex relationships between self-reported discrimination exposure and poor food choices, and we can see these processes lead to increased cravings for unhealthy foods, especially sweet foods, but also manifested as alterations in the bidirectional communication between the brain and the gut microbiome," said Arpana Gupta, PhD, a researcher and co-director of the UCLA Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center and the UCLA G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience.
"Our results show that a person's brain-gut crosstalk may change in response to ongoing experiences of discrimination -- affecting food choices, cravings, brain function, and contributing to alterations in gut chemistry that have been implicated in stress and inflammation.
“It appears that in response to stressful discrimination experiences, we seek comfort in food, manifested as increased cravings, and increased desire for highly palatable foods, such as high-calorie foods and, especially, sweet foods.
“These alterations may ultimately cause people exposed to discrimination to be more vulnerable to obesity and obesity-related disorders.
The findings are based on the results of functional MRI brain scans, sophisticated statistical modeling techniques, and analyses of metabolites of the glutamate pathway in the digestive tract. Participants included 107 people -- 87 women and 20 men -- of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds who completed a validated and widely used questionnaire that measures chronic experiences of unfair treatment.
The authors say considering both the present results and previously published research, greater discrimination exposure may lead to alterations in the bidirectional brain-gut microbiome communication that skews our biology towards unhealthy eating behaviors and cravings for unhealthy foods. This occurs via inflammatory processes in the brain-gut microbiome system involved in dysregulations of glutamatergic signaling and modulation of the frontal-striatal circuits.
BTW, what tamps down out-of-control glutamate activity? Gaba.
Possibly, probiotic supplementation or anti-inflammatory dietary changes, say these authors, may help, too.
Knowledge is power.
Living in a friendlier world is invaluable for all. Presently we are at a time where “shrill” is the norm. All our brain-gut pathways are being stressed. Be gentle to those you meet upon your journeys.
Dr. B.
Reference:
Discrimination exposure impacts unhealthy processing of food cues: crosstalk between the brain and gut. Nature Mental Health, 2023; DOI: 10.1038/s44220-023-00134-9
LOVE this post, thank you!