Shaking Your Booty from the Inside

Constipation has to be really, really bad before I resort to this:

patients swallow a capsule that vibrates to stimulate the intestines.

The capsule, called Vibrant, was cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration in August and this week became available for doctors.

In the intestines, the vibrations are intended to stimulate specialized nerve cells called mechanosensory cells, which in turn trigger undulating muscle contractions that help squeeze food through the gut.

Suppose the capsule "trigger(s) undulating muscle contractions" that won't stop? Suppose it gets stuck inside and won't come out when it's supposed to? Suppose TSA, which stopped me for a single Kleenex in a shirt pocket, won't let me through until the capsule is removed?

Thanks, but I'll stick with eating enough oatmeal to produce the desired effect.

Intestinal Fortitude

Like the home canners of a mostly bygone era, our kitchen is over-flowing with mason jars. They're not filled with fruit preserves but with kefir, a "cultured, fermented beverage...loaded with probiotic health benefits."

In August members of our household began cultivating yeast-like kefir grains, which are multiplying like tribbles. We now have gallons of kefir drinks in various flavors, and one has to be seriously dedicated to "good" bacteria and gut health to keep up.

Staying healthy requires intestinal fortitude.

The Way to a Man's Brain

Per the WSJ:

A growing body of research shows the gut affects bodily functions far beyond digestion. Studies have shown intriguing links from the gut's health to bone formation, learning and memory and even conditions including Parkinson's disease.

Scientists have unearthed connections from the gut to the brain that have not heretofore been obvious:

Low serotonin levels in the brain are known to affect mood and sleep. Several common antidepressants work by raising levels of serotonin in the brain. Yet about 95% of the serotonin in the body is made in the gut, not in the brain.

And..

In a study of 23 autistic children and nine typically developing kids, a bacterium unique to the intestines of those with autism called Sutterella was discovered.

To these unscientific eyes the relationship between autism and digestion is a far more promising line of study than the pseudo-science that attributed autism to vaccinations.