If the gut has to continue to forego energy in favour of the brain, its health will eventually suffer. A reduced blood supply and a thinner protective layer of mucous weaken the gut walls. The immune cells that dwell in the gut wall begin to secrete large amounts of signal substances that make the gut brain increasingly sensitive and lower the first threshold. Periods of stress mean the brain borrows energy; and, as any housekeeper knows, good budgeting is always better than running up too many debts.
