Your Brain Driven by Your Bowels: How Huperzine A Can Help You Study and Defecate

Our mental health not only depends on support from the world around us, but also from the bacteria we’re in relationship with in our guts. We have mutualistic relations that support our moods; our physical, emotional and mental health are an interdependent system, such that paying attention to these relationships is crucial. Our microbiome, or more specifically, the bacteria that live in our guts make our neurotransmitters that support feelings of contentment, satisfaction, attention, thinking and more. Serotonin, dopamine, GABA, acetylcholine are all produced by gut bacteria. Serotonin gives us a sense of wellbeing, confidence, lighter moods, plays a role in appetite, sexual desire, dopamine helps us feel satisfied, rewarded, and fosters clear thinking, GABA is the primary molecule for relaxation, and acetylcholine helps with memory, thinking, movement, attention.

 There is much to say about the gut biome, and perhaps we are on the cusp of knowing much more, but this post is about Huperzine A, an herbal supplement from Chinese clubmoss. Clubmoss is a vascular plant that reproduces through spores. It looks like moss, but is actually very small plants, connected to each other through runners (above ground) and rhizomes (below ground). They resemble a nervous system, and Huperzine A increases brain activity, and nervous system function. The German scholar Goethe wrote about how plants reveal their medicinal properties through external and internal characteristics. For example, greater celandine produces a milky sap that resembles bile, and is helpful to treat liver and gall bladder issues.

 Huperzine A is a compound taken from clubmoss and slows down the breakdown of acetylcholine, leaving more in circulation. This enhances memory, attention, concentration. It’s used in Alzheimer’s treatments. I use it sometimes to help me focus on work, especially if I need to write a difficult piece that’s hard to stay focused on. It also helps with constipation, as our gut motility and brain function are so intimately connected and acetylcholine helps with gut motility. If you want to try this herb, a good dose is .2 milligrams a day.