5 Stress Busting Tips for Better Digestion

Hands up if you have been feeling the STRESS? 🙌🏼

I get it. Stress levels are high, right now especially. Not only are we over a year into a worldwide pandemic, but life around us has been shifting NON-STOP. Some of us are working from home with little to no boundaries between work and home life. Some are still working out in the public, loaded up with PPE and the stress of having to be in public during such a worldwide crisis. Some of us are now home-schooling our children, or missing the stress busting family and friend outings that we previously relied on. Topping all of this off with the normal stresses we had BEFORE the pandemic hit. Bills, marriage, children, finances, work, time management, unfulfilled expectations or health concerns. All of these stressors build and build.

I am going to start off by saying that stress is complex, and so is digestion. We are all SO different, in that what one person perceives as stress, another may not. What I can not do with this article is solve everyones digestive woes, because it does take an individualized approach (maybe you would be a good fit for my Healthy Digestion Foundation Program!), but what I would like to do is raise awareness to the connection between stress and digestion.

In my own health and wellness journey, stress has played a huge role. I have been transparent with my history of tummy troubles, including gas, bloating, indigestion and sometimes less than stellar poops. Stress played a huge role in understanding why I was dealing with these uncomfortable symptoms.

Does this sound familiar to you?

Bloated
Gassy
Low Energy
Difficulty Losing Weight
Sluggish or Feeling Vaguely Unwell
Food Intolerances
Constipated/Diarrhea (or a combination of both)
Burn Out
Stress

Have you been told to cut out food groups, sugar is the enemy, go gluten-free, follow a low fodmap diet, or take this over the counter supplement for your gas. While in some situations, it is necessary to eliminate certain food groups for a period of time, the above recommendations aren’t getting to the ROOT of your digestive woes, but are rather a bandaid approach.

So in this article, I would like to discuss the connection between the mind and the gut, how they influence one another, and how we can support our stress levels to (hopefully) digest and assimilate our food in a better way.

DIGESTION 101

Digestive dysfunction is easily one of the most common ailments I encounter while working as a Registered Holistic Nutritionist & it is also one of the topics I am most passionate about, because a healthy digestive system is ESSENTIAL as a healthy foundation.

Digestion begins in the mouth with CHEWING. As we chew, our food is mechanically broken down in preparation for chemical digestion in the stomach. Living in the fast paced world that we do, it has become the norm to eat on the run, in from of our phone or tv, in the car or hovering over the sink with not enough time to even sit down. These actions all impact digestion, in part BECAUSE of the stress that these habits place on our nervous system (which we will get into more below). The stomach is made up of layers of heavy muscles, allowing it to churn like a washing machine, making digestive enzymes while it does so. Food then moves into the small intestinewehre the walls of the intestine secrete further alkaline digestive enzymes which continue to break down proteins into amino acids, long fatty acid chains into fatty acids and complex sugars into glucose. The pancreas plays a huge role here, in supplying supplying digestive enzymes.

Let’s move on to the large intestine that houses over 400 different types of of micro-organisms which are referred to as your MICROFLORA! Most of them are our friends, but we need to be aware of those bad bacteria that can send our bodies into a state of disarray.

The liver and gallbladder play an important role in this digestive process in order to digest fat, filter blood and act as a metabolic director.

HOW STRESS IMPACTS DIGESTION

Did you know that your stress levels can impact your digestion?

Stress isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s normal, and ideally, infrequent. Issues arise with chronic, unmanaged stress over time. Stress has physical effects in the body, like increased secretion of adrenaline, elevation of blood pressure, greater tension in the muscles and digestion slows or stops.

Stress initially increases stomach hydrochloric acid (HCl) production, contributing to indigestion, heartburn, gastritis and ulcer problems. As these acid levels increase the pancreas is called upon more frequently to release alkaline enzymes to help balance this acidity.

Over time with chronic stress, this can lead to LOW stomach acid and reduced function of the pancreas, resulting in poor digestion and assimilation of nutrients.

Stress paralyses digestion. When our body is under stress, energy is diverted AWAY from digestion and TOWARDS the brain, and skeletal muscles so that we can flee from this potential threat. ⁠ The problem is... we aren’t fleeing from anything. Modern stressors aren’t necessarily the physical threat that our bodies are conditioned to deal with. ⁠
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When we are stressed our bodies released corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) from the hypothalamus and acts on closely adjacent regions of the brain.⁠ This chemical master flips a switch that results in an increase release of cortisol and norepinephrine in the body, and induces a stress related gut reaction that can even impact the activity of gut microbiota!⁠
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The gut contracts more and it’s contents are evacuated.. nervous poops sound familiar?⁠

THE CONNECTION BETWEEN FOOD AND STRESS

TOP TIPS FOR MANAGING STRESS

In order to best support digestion, we should be supporting our rest and digest nervous system, and here are 5 tips to do just that;

Create a Peaceful Mealtime Environment
As we have learned, stress paralyzes digestion, it is biochemical. So to support better digestion, try creating a peaceful mealtime environment, so we shift into the rest and digest nervous system for optimal digestion. This means not eating on the run, in the car, hovered over the sink, or while working or watching TV.
Minimize Sugar & Simple Carbohydrates
These are stimulants that can contribute to stress and are void of nutrients themselves. Sugary foods satisfy our hunger so that they often replace more nutritious foods, therefore creating nutrient deficiencies, weakening tissue health and disease resistance.
Chew your Food Thoroughly, Savouring Each Bite!
Chewing your food is SO important in the the digestive process. Our stomach doesn’t have teeth, so in order to best prepare our food for chemical digestion in the stomach, we must chew, chew, chew. At least 20-30 times, until your food is an applesauce-like consistency.
Practice Stress Management Techniques like Deep Breathing or Restorative Exercises
This will help shift us into the “rest and digest” nervous system before a meal, hopefully encouraging better digestion in the process!
Support the Gut
A healthy gut is essential for a healthy foundation. The friendly bacteria in the gut serve many roles, whether it be neurotransmitter production, manufacture of B vitamins, or digestion. The Standard American Diet spells SAD, and that is just how it makes your gut feel. One of the best things you can do for your gut is include a variety of plant foods. Diversity is important to make sure you’re feeding those good gut bugs with the fuel they need to THRIVE!

If you could use some one-on-one support, check out my Healthy Digestion Foundation Program, or schedule a FREE Discovery call to connect with me and see if you would be a good fit for this program.