I was replying to someone who commented on one of my posts recently, that control (by a psychological center) is largely an illusion. However, we are such egoists that most of us can’t fathom what existing without control entails. Not long ago, i watched a TED Talk video on how one’s gut bacteria may possibly determine a lot of what constitutes one’s personality and outlook about others. There is a complex nerve network (i.e., the gut-microbiota-brain axis) between the gut and the brain. It’s a two-way street, but 80% of the messages go from the gut to the brain (and not vice versa). More information passes between your brain and your gut than any other body system. In fact, there are more nerve cells in your gut than anywhere else in the body outside of the brain. Gut microbes produce or help produce many of the chemical neurotransmitters that convey messages between your gut and brain. They also produce other chemicals that can affect your brain through your bloodstream. Bacteria produce thousands of bioactive compounds that affect brain function and neurotransmission; these can determine mood and, for instance, whether depression occurs significantly or not. Eating lousy food really turns us into people with psychological problems. Intelligence eats correctly and (hopefully) perceives and thinks correctly.
Eating many whole, prebiotic foods (like beans, wild blueberries, greens, onions, garlic, soy products, nuts, and foods high in fiber) is recommended; avoid eating fragmented, sugar-oriented foods. Probiotic foods like yogurt (with active cultures) are full of good bacteria already. Eat intelligently and (hopefully) perceive and think intelligently.
Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog 
YAY TOM!!!!! the first person I know besides me who pictures underground mycelial networks – without which we would not have life on land – do you know that this network stores three billion tons on carbon a year – one third of the world’s emissions… As for the rest of your post – well all I can say is that I hope a billion people read it – why is it that we keep so much of this stuff under wraps? To support this destructive agricultural system that is killing us? Hurrah for Tom!!!!!
I knew that you’d be appreciative of that photograph, Sara! 😊
I knew that the biomass of it was extensive but storing three billion tons of carbon… wow!… that’s a lot! I’m sure that there is big communication there between the fungi and the plants and trees. It must be a lot like what the first Avatar movie depicted. So yes, there are networks of communication — that we are mostly consciously unaware of — even within our own bodies. Each one of us is really a network of organisms within a larger world of organisms. How does eating tasty food that has been adulterated by big industry sweetly fit in? It doesn’t.
Tom you might want to read Suzanne Simard’s book on Finding the Mother Tree –
PS Simard’s work was what prompted that movie
Suzanne’s book would probably be very intriguing but i’ve read similar things before and currently i am not at all prone to reading books. I still do often read short online articles and research papers online and such. Currently i am very interested in paleontology and ancient life forms. Thanks for the information!
No Tom you haven’t read anything like this story before – I promise! Get it on audible when the spirit moves you… isn’t it interesting that folks like us are turning more and more towards earlier life forms – i don’t think this is coincidental – i think it may be because we need to know that life will live on? Any thoughts about this idea? I know that like you, I too am deep into past life forms.
I think a part of it, for me, is has to do with cherishing the resilience of life — and realizing that life will go on — but a lot of it is the amazement regarding how different things were in the past; it was just a different world back then!
Yes, life will go on! Those of us who love this planet need to feel that it will, I think. So many different different worlds Tom! We have already been through 5 extinctions and each time life returned in some form. That’s what gets me and you too it seems.
I don’t know, Tom… In Ayurveda there is a fixed belief that certain foods – high protein foods, onion and garlic especially – excite the passions. There’s a section of people who don’t eat onion and garlic in my country but those are often the most aggressive and bloodthirsty.
Onion and garlic, especially garlic, are very good for the cardiovascular system. Garlic especially is a very heart-healthy food. I’m not sure how much they affect the brain but it probably isn’t that much of a change. One thing that i need to write about sometime is the necessity and benefit of getting the right kind of Omega 3 (that is necessary for both the heart and the brain). A lot of vegetarians get their Omega 3 from such things as avacados, walnuts, and such. However, those are the ALA forms of Omega 3. But we need the DHA and EPA forms (as humans). Most men cannot convert the ALA form into the DHA and EPA forms. Women have a difficult time with converting, and women over 40 cannot turn the ALA into the necessary forms either. There are seaweed supplements that have the necessary forms or one can eat oily fish, like salmon and sardines. DHA and EPA are critically necessary for proper brain and heart function.
Tom, this picture of the mushroom’s underground portion looks like a neuron. I eat a healthy diet (except for straying occasionally to munch on whole-grain Goldfish crackers) and do several word games a day for brain health, so I hope I perceive and think intelligently for a long time. 🙂
Thanks, Linda… and the underground portions of mushrooms are like neurons, in that they (besides nutrients) are said to exchange information.
It’s great that you try to eat a healthy diet. Don’t worry about the whole-grain Goldfish crackers; i occasionally eat whole-grain/seed Crunch Masters crackers from Walmart. 😋
Please read what my reply was to “thelongview.” DHA and EPA are extremely important for good heart health and good brain health.
I think we need to have a little crunch in our diet Tom … the Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers are not all that crunchy like your Crunch Masters crackers, but they are still satisfying. I also like Triscuits low salt crackers with natural peanut butter. It’s good to be a texture eater sometimes. I read what you told “thelongview” – I only take a multivitamin and Cod Liver Oil capsules, two daily which I order from Amazon (Carlson – Cod Liver Oil Gems, 460 mg Omega-3s, Plus Vitamins A and D3, Wild Caught Norwegian Arctic Cod Liver Oil, Sustainably Sourced Nordic Fish Oil Capsules). I don’t eat red meat, but every day I have a packet of salmon or tuna on my sandwich. I love salmon and would eat it daily, but don’t want mercury poisoning.
It’s important to cater to heart health and brain health.
Wow, you are eating very wisely, Linda! 😉 I was a vegetarian for decades but now i too eat oily fish and take Omega 3 capsules. I had a bit of a heart problem in the past, so now i am very careful to eat a heart-healthy diet. Plus i have arthritis… so the DHA and EPA are very necessary for helping with that.
I eat a lot of Mediterranean style sardines with mustard spread on them… the King Oscar brand; they are very low in mercury. Salmon, especially salmon from the north Pacific is very low in mercury. Be sure not to eat farm raised salmon, which is very high in pollutants. Walmart has small packets of wild Pacific Pink Salmon, and it is very healthy; the Bagel flavor is very good; i use it in the Extreme Wellness tortellas. Tuna has more Mercury; i wouldn’t eat that more than once a week. Additionally, you can take quality Alpha Lipoic Acid, which would help to eliminate mercury. Smoked Kipper Snacks are also very tasty and can be eaten right out of the can. I eat a lot of vegetables, nuts, and low carb things.
You eat even healthier than me Tom. I think I need to start shopping at Walmart – they have a wider variety of foods than Meijer. I might try sardines – I know they are good for calcium. I have not had kippers and I see they are smoked – I try to eliminate sodium if possible, but it can’t be helped – it is in milk for goodness sake. The Goldfish crackers are not too bad for sodium – you have to have a little salt or you will crave it. I remember when you had the heart issue – it was awhile back now. I worry as it runs in the family (maternal side). My grandmother and her seven siblings, all died from heart-related issues.
If heart trouble runs in your family — as it does in mine — you should do what i do. Besides being on a statin (from your doctor) also take Citrus Bergamot (2 per day). Citrus Bergamot works synergistically with statins and really lowers your LDL cholesterol; the lower it is, the better. My doctor tells me that my LDL cholesterol is the lowest of all of his patients. New research shows that LDL lower than 40 is best. Also consider taking Nattokinase 2,000 IU to 4,000 IU per day; just don’t take it daily with baby aspirin. And getting an inexpensive brand of vitamin K2 MK7 would also be beneficial. I get my Citrus Bergamot and supplements through Amazon Subscribe and Save. The Citrus Bergamot is made by Double Wood (a very good brand). I hope that this helps.
I eat probiotic foods. In fact I have added few good source in my daily menu