How the brain talks to the immune system (and why this changes everything) If you’ve ever noticed that stress makes your gut worse, your sleep worse, your mood shorter, and your inflammation louder… you’re not imagining it. One of the main “communication highways” tying all of that together is the vagus nerve—the longest cranial nerve in the body, connecting the brainstem to the heart, lungs, digestive tract, and immune signaling hubs. What the vagus nerve does (in plain English) Think of the vagus nerve as a two-way radio between your brain and your body: - It carries information UP to the brain about what’s happening in your gut, organs, and immune system. - It carries signals DOWN from the brain that influence heart rate, digestion, inflammation, and recovery. This is why vagal tone (how well this system “communicates”) is so closely tied to stress resilience, digestion, mood stability, immune balance, and inflammation. The inflammatory reflex The brain’s built-in “inflammation brake” Researchers describe a specific neuro-immune circuit called the inflammatory reflex—a pathway where the nervous system can turn down inflammatory cytokine output in the body. Here’s the simplified sequence (matching the concept shown in that diagram): 1) The signal starts in the brainstem When the vagus nerve is activated (think: slow breathing, relaxation response), the brain sends output down vagal pathways that can influence immune signaling. 2) The spleen acts like a relay station The vagus nerve interfaces with splenic immune circuitry through the splenic nerve. In this pathway, signaling ultimately leads to norepinephrine release in the spleen, which then activates a specific subset of T-cells. 3) Immune T-cells release acetylcholine This is one of the coolest parts: certain T-cells can produce acetylcholine, which functions like the “final messenger” in this anti-inflammatory circuit. 4) Acetylcholine tells macrophages to “stand down” Acetylcholine binds to receptors (including α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors) on macrophages and can reduce inflammatory cytokine release, including TNF-α in experimental models.

☀️ Vitamin D isn’t actually a vitamin. It’s a hormone your body creates, and it plays a role in far more than bone health. Vitamin D receptors are found throughout the body, and research shows vitamin D is involved in 300+ biological processes, including: • Immune resilience • Bone density & muscle function • Cardiovascular health • Mood regulation & mental health • Cognitive performance & brain health • Thyroid and metabolic signaling Yet here’s where most conversations stop short 👇 Having vitamin D present doesn’t always mean your body can use it effectively. 🧬 Genetics matter. Variations (SNPs) in the Vitamin D Receptor (VDR) genes can impair how well your cells respond to vitamin D — even if blood levels look “normal.” This means someone can: • Get sun exposure • Take supplements • Show a “normal” lab value …and still experience symptoms tied to functional vitamin D insufficiency. This is why we often pair vitamin D testing with genetic insight and symptom patterns — numbers alone don’t tell the whole story. 🔍 That’s why at Bedrock Nutrition, we don’t aim for minimum adequacy. We aim for optimized terrain. 📊 Our clinical target: Vitamin D (25-OH D3): 60–100 ng/mL Compare that to the conventional “normal” cutoff of ~30 ng/mL — a level that may still be associated with: • Low mood & depressive symptoms • Increased anxiety • Poor immune signaling • Thyroid dysfunction • Higher inflammatory burden This aligns with what leaders in brain health continue to emphasize. Dr. Daniel Amen recently highlighted that vitamin D deficiency is linked to hundreds of conditions, including depression, cognitive decline, autoimmune disease, and dementia — and that 3 out of 4 Americans now fall below optimal levels. 📌 Testing matters. We don’t guess. We measure — and we interpret in context. 👉 Take our functional health assessment: 🔗 https://adobe.ly/41cHOYw When levels are low or utilization is impaired, D3 paired with K2 becomes foundational for absorption, transport, and safety.

Jesus didn’t “push through” stress. He withdrew. Before big decisions. After emotional intensity. In grief. Under pressure. He went away to pray. To be still. To restore. That wasn’t weakness. That was wisdom. Modern neuroscience calls it nervous system regulation. Scripture simply shows us the pattern. A dysregulated nervous system can’t hear clearly. Can’t respond wisely. Can’t sustain peace. Stillness wasn’t separate from His mission. It sustained it. If you’re anxious, overwhelmed, overstimulated, exhausted… Maybe the next faithful step isn’t doing more. Maybe it’s withdrawing — like He did. This is what we explore inside the NeuroTerrain Mental Health course: How faith, physiology, and healing were never meant to be separate. 🔗 Join us here: https://www.skool.com/bedrock-nation-8489/classroom/ab34cae5 Peace starts in the nervous system. And Jesus showed us the way. #FoodForFaith #NeuroTerrain #FaithAndMentalHealth #NervousSystemHealing #ChristianWellness #BedrockNation