Your gut, or ENS, is your second brain

what is the ENS

Made up of 100 million neurons, the network of nerve cells lining the digestive tract is often called our ‘second brain’ – or enteric nervous system (ENS) – as it resembles our actual brain due to its complexity, autonomous function and similarity to our central nervous system.

Some amazing ENS facts

• It contains around 5-600m neurons or brain cells, rivalling the number found in the spinal cord

• While it can communicate with the central nervous system it can function independently, receiving sensory information from the gut and controlling digestion, motility (muscle contractions moving food), digestive enzymes and hormone secretion, and blood flow to digestive organs

• The ENS creates (and sometimes stores) over 30 neurotransmitters or signalling molecules. While many are found in the gut, some key ones include serotonin, GABA, dopamine, acetylcholine, histamine and glutamate that are involved in mood, immune function, motility, digestion and more

• It communicates bidirectionally with the central nervous system through the vagus nerve and other pathways. This is part of the gut-brain axis, which helps regulate emotions, mood and stress responses

Dysfunction in the ENS has been linked to gastrointestinal disorders like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and functional dyspepsia.

The ENS is important to understanding how the gut influences our overall health, including our mental wellbeing.

Its ability to operate independently allows it to regulate gut functions without direct input from the brain, emphasising its importance in digestive health and overall homeostasis or balance