Researchers Trace Neurological Circuits That Cause Vomiting From Contaminated Food

Vomiting after contaminated food consumption? We all have been there- be it one tasty street food or one at a good restaurant- contaminated food is bad. The seizures experienced during the same are hard to cope with and may result in other complications as well. 

And now according to researchers, there is a new trace found- the neural pathways that are responsible for vomiting post-contaminated food consumption.

For those who don’t know what makes us vomit, let us take you through the body’s natural defense mechanism. Our body has different ways to cope with contaminated pollutants, toxins, diseases, bacteria, and viruses. The basic onset of defense begins with sneezing, coughing, and vomiting. 

Neurological Processes That Lead To Vomiting After Eating Spoiled Food

Your body vomits to fight against contamination- for instance, you’ve consumed bad bacteria. Your body alarms the brain and that gets into action. This action results in nausea, and later vomiting to get rid of bacterial toxins. These toxins are thrown away after you eat tainted or contaminated food.

The brain signals are called the neural pathways that are responsible to detect the bacteria and help the body to throw them away. The brain is the master, when it commands, the body performs and the same happens with the vomiting mechanism.

Now coming back to the foodborne bacteria, we take in all types of bacteria after food. You know some are good bacteria and some are bad. Our body is smart enough to detect which one is which! After you consume the contaminated piece of food, the bacteria start to produce toxins inside the body.

These toxins are reported by the body to the brain via the neural pathways transfer when the latter commands the former to throw them out. This causes the body to produce nausea and results in vomiting.

The brain detects them and will set off a chain of biological reactions that are also called neural pathways. These include the feeling of nausea and vomiting that would get rid of the substances causing the same. But here’s a thing- the brain tends to throw all the food. Yes, although it creates the aversion to similar tasting or looking foods it also can work on the severity of the bacteria traces. If the bacteria is still present, the body will keep throwing out the food.

Some people argue how can the brain be so smart. How can it detect germs? And how does this biological response start? It is still a mystery and researchers are on it. 

Although the researchers have created a detailed map of the same. This is also called the detailed neural map and complies with the defensive responsiveness in mice. It is observed from the gut to the brain for the first time where a study of journal cells indicates the improvement of chemotherapy-related nausea-causing treatments. The ones that are done on cancer patients are detailed in the journal. You can read the same from it and get a hint of the process. 

Read More: How To Make Yourself Throw Up? The Best Ways To Do It!

The main question lies in the same: how are these signals transmitted from the gut to the brain? It was unclear and somewhat unsorted as the scientists cannot run the tests properly.

Our body is smart enough and has many other defensive mechanisms. What makes us cough? What selective elements of the air cause us to cough while others don’t? It’s all the brain and the mystery still remains unsolved. 

Scientists are still researching and having different theories on the same, we hope to find a legit reason for the same one day!