Communication system
Our Body’s Communication SystemThe body’s “Communication System” is a marvelously intricate network that controls how we act and react to both external and internal events. When this system is balanced, we experience the harmony that constitutes our health and sense of well-being.
The Communication System integrates the body’s physiological systems, including the nervous, endocrine, digestive, and immune systems. When the Communication System becomes imbalanced, the stage is set for many of the physical and emotional complaints and chronic ailments for which we seek help.
At the core of the Communication System is the Central Nervous System-the brain and the spinal cord-and the Peripheral Nervous System. These two systems rely on neurotransmitters – biochemical that enable cells to “converse” with one another by providing instructions and feedback- to communicate with the muscles, organs and glands. For example, neurotransmitters are responsible for signaling the quickening pulse of the heart, the release of hormones from the endocrine system, and the release of enzymes in the digestive system.
In a healthy body, neurotransmitter levels are constantly monitored and kept in check. However, the balance of these biochemical is subject to many forms of disruption. Because neurotransmitters are comprised of several amino acid building blocks that are supplied through proper nutrition, poor diet-or poor digestion-can rapidly deplete some neurotransmitters, thereby increasing the level of others. In addition, medications as well as illicit drugs may decrease stores, often, resulting in severely elevated neurotransmitter levels which are often evident in urine.
Other factors also influence neurotransmitter levels; short-term stress can cause neurotransmitter levels to rise dramatically while chronic stress, on the other hand, can exhaust both neurotransmitters and the hormones they attempt to release. When a neurotransmitter is chronically induced into a synapse, it is subject to loss via enzymatic degradation and diffusion out of the synaptic space. Any condition that induces a neurotransmitter hour-after-hour, day-after-day can ultimately causes depletion.
The hormones produced by the body’s endocrine system are another integral part of the Communication System. Just as the nervous system uses neurotransmitters to relay information, the endocrine system employs hormones in a similar fashion.
These hormones are considered primary and critical to all metabolic function, and are produced under the direction of the master gland, the limbic hypothalamus, and its lieutenant, the pituitary.
The hypothalamus and pituitary control the function of glands such as the thyroid, the adrenals, the ovaries and the testes as well as some lesser-known glands, such as the stomach’s G cells that produce gastrin. Because neurotransmitters initiate many endocrine functions, a neurotransmitter deficiency affects not only neuronal function but also impacts endocrine function throughout in the body. Likewise, endocrine hormones can affect neurotransmitter levels. Imbalanced hormones can directly imbalance neurotransmitters.
When one (or both) of these systems becomes impaired, the entire Communication System is compromised. Bringing the system back into balance is therefore critical to the restoration of health and well-being.
While the nervous and endocrine systems are the major components of the Communication System, the gut also plays an important role. The vital functions of digestion and absorption are modulated by both nerves and hormones. Imbalances in either can have a substantially negative impact on gut function. Also, in the presence of GI inflammation, it is impossible for the body to properly absorb and assimilate the nutrients necessary for the production of hormones and neurotransmitters. Because imbalance anywhere in the GI tract can have serious consequences on health, addressing gut issues is an important component in reestablishing balance within the Communication System.
The Communication System integrates the body’s physiological systems, including the nervous, endocrine, digestive, and immune systems. When the Communication System becomes imbalanced, the stage is set for many of the physical and emotional complaints and chronic ailments for which we seek help.
At the core of the Communication System is the Central Nervous System-the brain and the spinal cord-and the Peripheral Nervous System. These two systems rely on neurotransmitters – biochemical that enable cells to “converse” with one another by providing instructions and feedback- to communicate with the muscles, organs and glands. For example, neurotransmitters are responsible for signaling the quickening pulse of the heart, the release of hormones from the endocrine system, and the release of enzymes in the digestive system.
In a healthy body, neurotransmitter levels are constantly monitored and kept in check. However, the balance of these biochemical is subject to many forms of disruption. Because neurotransmitters are comprised of several amino acid building blocks that are supplied through proper nutrition, poor diet-or poor digestion-can rapidly deplete some neurotransmitters, thereby increasing the level of others. In addition, medications as well as illicit drugs may decrease stores, often, resulting in severely elevated neurotransmitter levels which are often evident in urine.
Other factors also influence neurotransmitter levels; short-term stress can cause neurotransmitter levels to rise dramatically while chronic stress, on the other hand, can exhaust both neurotransmitters and the hormones they attempt to release. When a neurotransmitter is chronically induced into a synapse, it is subject to loss via enzymatic degradation and diffusion out of the synaptic space. Any condition that induces a neurotransmitter hour-after-hour, day-after-day can ultimately causes depletion.
The hormones produced by the body’s endocrine system are another integral part of the Communication System. Just as the nervous system uses neurotransmitters to relay information, the endocrine system employs hormones in a similar fashion.
These hormones are considered primary and critical to all metabolic function, and are produced under the direction of the master gland, the limbic hypothalamus, and its lieutenant, the pituitary.
The hypothalamus and pituitary control the function of glands such as the thyroid, the adrenals, the ovaries and the testes as well as some lesser-known glands, such as the stomach’s G cells that produce gastrin. Because neurotransmitters initiate many endocrine functions, a neurotransmitter deficiency affects not only neuronal function but also impacts endocrine function throughout in the body. Likewise, endocrine hormones can affect neurotransmitter levels. Imbalanced hormones can directly imbalance neurotransmitters.
When one (or both) of these systems becomes impaired, the entire Communication System is compromised. Bringing the system back into balance is therefore critical to the restoration of health and well-being.
While the nervous and endocrine systems are the major components of the Communication System, the gut also plays an important role. The vital functions of digestion and absorption are modulated by both nerves and hormones. Imbalances in either can have a substantially negative impact on gut function. Also, in the presence of GI inflammation, it is impossible for the body to properly absorb and assimilate the nutrients necessary for the production of hormones and neurotransmitters. Because imbalance anywhere in the GI tract can have serious consequences on health, addressing gut issues is an important component in reestablishing balance within the Communication System.
