To maintain a healthy brain and nervous system we need to have clean and nourished cerebrospinal fluid. The cerebrospinal fluid that bathes our brains and nervous systems helps to cleanse toxins that cause inflammation and use up the essential nutrients we need to keep our brains functioning optimally.
Neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine and GABA are either amino acids themselves or are synthesised from them, and studies have shown specifically the amino acid Ethanolamine to be nearly 50% lower in depressed subjects compared to controls.
Ethanolamine or EA is closely related to the endocannabinoid signalling system, and is a pre-curser to the neurotransmitter anandamide (named after the Sanskrit word Ananda which means bliss), and plays a role in producing states of euphoria, influencing higher thought processes, memory, pain, regulation of body temperature, fertility, appetite and has anti-anxiety and anti-inflammatory effects - something we definitely don’t want to be lacking in. Decreased Ethanolamine has been attributed to inflammatory responses in the brain, where it is rapidly used up and converted into substances to combat this inflammation.
So how can we remedy such deficiencies and inflammation? Studies have shown that vagus nerve stimulation elevates levels of Ethanolamine in certain subjects and can alter the chemical composition of the cerebrospinal fluid by cleansing the glymphatic system of the brain of any unwanted by-products.
Craniosacral Therapy, meditation, chanting and breathwork can all help stimulate the vagus nerve and balance the myriad of chemical reactions happening in the central nervous system at any given time.
Refs: https://www.nature.com/articles/srep07796
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4636982/
#craniosacraltherapy #mentalhealth #anxiety #depression #brainhealth #stress #wellbeing #cerebrosp
