Seeing how our 80 different organs, our 37 miles of nerves, 12 feet of small intestine, 5 feet of large intestine all fit inside our shell of skin can add some understanding of just how intricate of a machine we humans actually are!

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One example is the Vagus Nerve. It stretches from our brain, directly into our gut. A stressed or damaged Vagus nerve can cause all sorts of havoc with our gut biome.

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The vagus nerve also called the pneumogastric nerve, is responsible for various internal organ functions, including:

• digestion

• heart rate

• breathing

• cardiovascular activity

• reflex actions, such as coughing, sneezing, swallowing, and vomiting

It plays a role in the autonomic nervous system, which controls actions people do unconsciously, such as breathing and digestion.

It may also form a link between the gut and the brain, playing a role in what scientists call the gut-brain axis. In recent years, experts have been studying the gut-brain axis to look for links between conditions such as obesity and depression.