The Jakarta Post – Niken Prathivi
“While some parents might think that the human digestive system is only involved in absorbing nutrients, proponents of the gut/brain axis say that a healthy gut is important for growing children. The gut/brain axis refers to biochemical signaling between a person’s gastrointestinal (GI) tract and their nervous system. It often involves intestinal microbiota — the microorganisms that live in our bodies, which happen to have an important role in healthy brain function…“A healthy gut delivers a positive signal that influences brain growth, while the brain also sends positive signals that influence microbiota composition in the gut, which has an impact on nutrition absorption,” Ahmad Suryawan, a member of the Happy Tummy Council, said at a recent talk in Jakarta. “This is why we call the gut the ‘second brain’.”…Ahmad said that there is a connection between the microbiota in a child’s gut and the development of behavioral intelligence.”(more)