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CLAIM: A viral podcast clip features MP Ravi Kishan claiming the gut, once called the “second brain,” is now the “first brain.” He says people think through the gut, that eating involves a form of “thinking” originating there, and that the phrase “gut feeling” reflects this. The claim is widely shared on social media.
FACT: Scientific research confirms a strong connection between the gut and the brain, but does not support the claim that the gut functions as the “first brain” or that thinking happens there. Experts say the brain remains the body’s main centre for thought, while the gut mainly controls digestion, communicating with the brain through nerves and hormones.
Actor and Gorakhpur MP Ravi Kishan claimed on Raj Shamani’s podcast Figuring Out that “the gut is your brain.” The claim is now being widely shared on social media.
Kishan claimed that the gut was earlier called the “second brain,” but is now being called the “first brain.”
“You think through the gut,” he said, adding that people are what they eat.
The claims made by the actor-turned-politician are being widely shared across social media, with several accounts turning them into memes. One such reel, posted by the account alphaaura000, has garnered more than 100,000 likes, over 5,500 comments, and more than 2 million views.
Do the studies back the claim?
Scientific studies do show a gut-brain link, but not gut-based thinking.
A 2021 study published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation examined the gut-brain relationship in detail. The study stated that the gut sent signals to the brain through nerve pathways, while also receiving inputs back from the brain. It also noted that the enteric nervous system, a network of nerves within the gut, can independently detect changes in the digestive tract and regulate digestion and bowel movement.
The study also highlighted the role of the microbiome—the trillions of bacteria and other microorganisms that naturally live in the gut—describing an ongoing exchange of information between these microbes, the gut and the brain.
However, the study clarified that this exchange was neither top-down nor bottom-up, but a three-way conversation between the gut, brain and microbiome.
A 2024 review published in the journal Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy looked at how gut bacteria communicate with brain, and what this connection means for diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The study explained that the trillions of bacteria living in the gut sent signals that affected brain cells involved in protecting and supporting the nervous system.
The review stated that this gut-to-brain connection played an important role in these diseases, and that targeting it could open up new treatment options in the future.
At the same time, the study was careful to point out that scientists could not yet say for certain that changes in gut bacteria actually caused these diseases. It could simply be a side effect of the disease rather than a trigger for it. The review also flagged a concern with existing animal research, noting the “excessively high rate (95%) of positive results and causal claims” in such studies, and cautioned against reading too much into these results.
The study concluded that while the gut and brain were clearly linked, much more research was needed before this link could be used in actual treatments.
What are experts saying?
Dr Mahesh D M, senior consultant, endocrinology at Aster CMI Hospital, Bangalore, said the claim does not hold up medically. “It is not medically accurate to call the gut the first brain,” he said, adding that the brain remains the body’s main control centre for thinking, memory, decision-making, emotions and behaviour.
He explained that the gut is sometimes called the “second brain” because of a large network of nerves called the enteric nervous system, which help control digestion without needing constant instructions from the brain. However, he clarified that this “does not mean the gut has replaced the brain or performs the same complex mental functions as the brain.”
“Thinking does not happen in the gut,” Dr Mahesh said, explaining that the gut communicates with the brain through nerves, hormones and chemical signals but cannot process information the way the brain does.
He said the phrase “gut feeling” does have some biological basis to it, since the gut and brain are in constant communication.
“But a gut feeling is not proof that the gut is thinking,” he said. “It is instead the brain interpreting signals from the body along with past experiences and emotions.”
Also read: FACT CHECK: Can eating 1 spoon of ghee on an empty stomach cure gut issues and depression?
