Is stress making your gut health worse?
Short answer: yes.
Read on to understand how the gut & brain are connected, how stress impacts our gut health and what we can do to support this.
What is the gut-brain axis?
Our gut and our brain are intimately connected through a series of communication networks known as the gut brain axis. We’ve all had the experience of “butterflies” when we’re excited or feeling “sick to your stomach” when something bad happens. These are two easily understood examples of the gut brain connection at work.
We are learning more and more about this each day, and the different communication systems that are involved.
This includes:
The Central Nervous System - collection of nerves in the brain & spinal cord
The Enteric Nervous System - the collection of nerves around the digestive tract (also known as the “second brain”
The Vagus Nerve - runs between the brainstem and the gut as part of the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting a state of rest and digest
The Gut Microbiome - the community of microorganisms which live within our digestive tract and play a critical role in the digestion and availability of nutrients, and even mood regulation
Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axis - sounds fancy but is essentially just the communication system for regulating the production of cortisol and other stress hormones from the brain (Hypothalamus & Pituitary) and the Adrenal glands
Immune system - new research is also discovering new pathways of communication through the immune system too
My attempt to simplify & graphically represent the gut brain connection
How does stress impact your gut health?
Through a number of different ways, including:
Diverting blood flow away from our digestive organs - the perceived stress sends a message to the body that you might be in danger so prioritises things like muscle contractions and alertness
Alters gut motility - stress can either speed up or slow down the transit of food through the digestive tract
Stress can disrupt the composition of the gut microbiome, promoting the growth of more bad bacteria
Increases gut permeability, AKA ‘leaky gut’
Impacts the immune system - 70-80% of the body’s immune cells are located in the gut
The relationship between the gut and the brain is bi-directional meaning that the health of the gut also has the potential to significantly impact mental health.
How to support stress, mood & a happier gut
Essentially any steps you take to reduce the stress in your life or the way in which you perceive it are going to be helpful, however here are three things that I find most helpful for supporting the gut-brain connection in particular:
Support a healthy and diverse gut microbiome by eating a range of plant-based foods. More on this here.
Develop a breathing practice that focuses on slowing the exhale. This is an excellent way to reduce cortisol levels and reduce the stimulation of the HPA axis
Regular exercise - not only incredibly helpful for stress levels but also supportive for gut health by stimulating the muscles of the gut and even potentially impact the gut microbiome
If you’d like to learn more about the impact stress is having on your gut, and how to support great gut health in general, join me for our Online Masterclass - It All Starts in the Gut!
References:
Boytar, A. N., Skinner, T. L., Wallen, R. E., Jenkins, D. G., & Dekker Nitert, M. (2023). The Effect of Exercise Prescription on the Human Gut Microbiota and Comparison between Clinical and Apparently Healthy Populations: A Systematic Review. Nutrients, 15(6), 1534. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15061534
Carabotti, M., Scirocco, A., Maselli, M. A., & Severi, C. (2015). The gut-brain axis: interactions between enteric microbiota, central and enteric nervous systems. Annals of gastroenterology, 28(2), 203–209.
Shoubridge, A. P., Choo, J. M., Martin, A. M., Keating, D. J., Wong, M. L., Licinio, J., & Rogers, G. B. (2022). The gut microbiome and mental health: advances in research and emerging priorities. Molecular psychiatry, 27(4), 1908–1919. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-022-01479-w