How stress affects gut health

Ever wondered why you feel nauseous when you're anxious, or get an upset tummy when stressed?

Neurogastronterology is a fairly new area of medicine, that focuses on the gut brain connection - how our nervous system affects the gut and vice versa

The gut has its very own nervous system, the enteric nervous system (ENS) - its like a second brain that runs through the gut wall! 

This contains 200-600 million neurons (nerve cells) - as many as the spinal cord - and has more nerve cells than any other organ outside the brain! 

The ENS is connected to the brain via the vagus nerve and the gut brain axis, which send signals back and forth between the gut and brain

This means thoughts, feelings, and memories can affect the gut, and our gut health affects our mental health, brain function, and stress levels 

The gut even produces its own neurotransmitters and hormones - serotonin (happy hormones), dopamine (feel good hormones) and opioids (pain relief)! 

The ENS controls many functions of the gut, including :

✔️gut wall integrity (ie stopping leaky gut) 

✔️secreting digestive enzymes (to digest food) 

✔️motility (gut muscle contraction to move food through the digestive system) 

✔️blood flow and fluid absorption in the gut 

✔️neuroendocrine production ( serotonin, opioids, dopamine etc ) 

✔️immune defence 

✔️monitoring and regulating acidity levels in the gut

✔️it even influences our gut microbiome!

The mind - gut connection is very real, and managing this is a vital part of holistic health

The ENS plays a central role in many gut issues, ie IBS, IBD, reflux, coeliac disease, and indigestion

As a result, stress can have a huge impact on the gut, via:

✔️increasing  gut wall permeability 

✔️damaging gut microbiome

✔️altering gut motility (causes cramps, indigestion, constipation, reflux or diarrhoea)

✔️reducing the protective lining of the gut (which can cause stomach ulcers and inflammation)

✔️slowing digestion (causes nausea, bloating )

✔️increasing stomach acidity (causing reflux)

Ways to help reduce the effects of stress on the gut include:

✔️deep slow belly breaths

✔️yoga

✔️meditation

✔️exercise

✔️sleep

✔️gut directed hypnosis (such as the Nerva app) 

✔️psychology techniques

✔️a whole food high fibre diet

As with everything in lifestyle medicine, theres often not one single cause or quick fix, it's all about balance.

But on the flip side, all those things that improve gut health are also great for overall well-being - so there's nothing to lose by trying them!