How does STRESS Impact Digestion?
It has been a minute since I published a post, so I wanted to talk about something that is super important to me! Stress and Digestion. I want to talk about how stress impacts our ability to digest food and how to combat it!
I’m going to get personal for a second here. One of the reasons I became interested in Holistic Nutrition, was because of my own digestive issues (and the interesting connections that I made between between this and the other symptoms I had been experiencing like PMS, and anxiety).
I couldn’t get through a shift at work without spending some time in the bathroom, and no matter how well I ate, it just seemed like it went right through me. Too much information, maybe, but I like to be transparent, because I know I’m not the only one.
I saw naturopaths and doctors because the bloating, indigestion and loose stool were starting to affect my work preformance, and THAT started stressing me out more (not what I needed). After trying a few different diets, experimenting with different food intolerances, with not a ton of success, I was coming up short on what was contributing to my frequent trips to the bathroom!
Then, BOOM. It hit me. Stress.
The one thing I hadn’t considered.
Because we aren’t really told that our emotional state could have an impact on our physical state, let alone our BOWEL MOVEMENTS.
I was 24 years old, going through some major changes in life, and I was STRESSED. I am a perfectionist, that likes to be in control, and the lack of control I was feeling at that point in my life, started to take over.
To this day, stress is something I work on to achieve those perfect poops I’m always speaking of!
The Science Behind the Stress Response
This is something that I think is important to understand in order to best understand the effect that stress has on digestion.
The first phase of your stress response is referred to as your fight or flight response. This is triggered by the sympathetic nervous system and causes the adrenals to secrete adrenaline and other stress related hormones!
Your fight or flight response is designed to deal with predators or danger by mobilizing your body’s resources for immediate physical activity (like FIGHTING or FLEEING, right?). This results in blood being diverted away from our skin and internal organs (except the heart and lungs) while the blood supplying glucose and oxygen to muscles and the brain is increased. In stressful situations energy is diverted away from digestion, effectively paralyzing itI mean it makes sense, if you’re being chased by a cheetah, the last thing we’re thinking about is digesting our breakfast. The issue is that modern stressors aren’t things that we are literally running away from. You know what this means? If we are chronically stressed, our body isn't properly breaking food down, which means nutrients aren't being properly absorbed.
What can you do today? Let’s focus on STRESS-FREE Mealtime for better digestion!
There are so many factors that play into a healthy stress response
These are topics that I cover in my 12-week one on one nutrition coaching program. In this program we learn about the connection between the mind and the gut, how stress impacts digestion, and how to create a mealtime that is entered around less stress, and therefore better digestion!
If you feel
✔️Bloated✔️Gassy✔️Low Energy✔️Difficulty Losing Weight✔️Sluggish, and Feeling Vaguely Unwell✔️Constipated or Suffering with Diarrhea (or a combination of BOTH!)✔️Multiple Food Intolerances✔️Burnt-Out✔️Chronically Elevated Stress Levels..and you feel like you could use some personalized support, book a discovery call today! You might be a perfect fit for my upcoming program!