Part 1: Gut check…I’m so stressed out!
Ever notice when stress hits you hard, your gut lets you know you are stressed, too? You already have a lot on your plate when your stomach is suddenly in knots, you are sick more often, you are always feeling tired, and then your emotions are all over the board. It makes you feel even more stressed!
This blog series will dig into the relationship between stress and your gut. It will cover everything from microbiome basics and stress, how to protect the microbiome and how to keep your mind and microbiome balanced and flourishing.
What is the microbiome?
The microbiome is a miniature world made up of trillions of microscopic organisms that flourish within the gastrointestinal tract. These intestinal organisms help digest your food, govern your appetite, control your metabolism, orchestrate your immune system, influence your mood, and even help determine how your genes are expressed.1 When the microbiome gets out of balance, it can trigger a host of diseases from mood disorders (stress!) to rashes and cancer.
Life is stressful, what is going on?
Daily life is stressful for the majority of the population. According to a Gallup poll in 2020, approximately 60% of Americans feel daily stress or worry. That’s a lot of distressed microbiomes! Various types of stress (psychological, perceived, and physical) can alter the composition of the microbiome. Stress can shift gut bacteria via hormones, inflammation, and autonomic alterations, which can eventually lead to pathogenic species crowding out the beneficial species.2 Some of these “bad” bacterial species can encourage dysregulated eating…essentially being dependent on outside factors to initiate and stop eating rather than relying on internal cues of hunger and satiety.3
Stress can often influence food choices. Stress can curb a person’s appetite, but it can also lead to overeating. When stress initially hits, your adrenal glands wake up and start pumping epinephrine (aka adrenaline). It is that fight-or-flight response you feel when you have been woken up by a bear or heard something spooky in the middle of the night. But when that stress continues (perceived or otherwise), the adrenal glands produce another hormone called cortisol. Some folks call it the stress hormone. Cortisol plays an important role in many processes, including how your body uses carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Cortisol also can make you crave sugary, salty, and fatty foods, because your brain thinks it needs fuel to defend whatever threat is causing the stress.4 This is often why many people reach for that bowl of ice cream or a candy bar as a way to cope with a stressful situation.
The gut and brain are connected…
Have you ever noticed that you get butterflies in your stomach before a big race or presentation? Do certain situations make you feel nauseous? What about that “gut wrenching” feeling? The brain has a direct effect on the stomach and intestines, known as the gut-brain connection. The gut-brain connection is a bidirectional signal between the gut microbiota, the gut, and the brain via the neural pathways involving both the central and enteric nervous systems along with the circulatory system.5 The vagus nerve runs the length of our body, connecting all of our digestive organs such as the stomach and intestines directly to our brain; this connection influences mood and behaviors as serotonin can activate the vagus nerve and send signals to the brain.6 In fact, those who suffer from IBS and other bowel disorders are often treated with mind-body therapy like cognitive behavioral therapies and medical hypnotherapies (and even anti-depressants) to help soothe the “second brain” aka, that brain in your gut.7
Additionally, your microbiome is also responsible for the manufacturing and release of serotonin, your happy mood chemical. Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFA) are anti-inflammatory substances produced by the gut bacteria and interact with cells responsible for serotonin production. When a stressful event arises, cortisol levels elevate and in turn decreases the amount of happy chemicals such as dopamine, GABA, and serotonin. It’s hard to remain happy when all your happy chemicals are smushed!
What is the big deal if I am stressed?
When the gut is off balance due to stress or from consuming a Western diet, the immune system is compromised and is often why when people are chronically stressed, they often get sick or endure leaky gut and/or dysbiosis. Likely due in part to the Western diet, 60-70 million Americans suffer from digestive disorders, costing approximately $100 billion annually.8 Leaky gut and dysbiosis? Tell me more!
The gut lining is made up of epithelial cells that are tightly interconnected with various junctions. When a person suffers from leaky gut, these tight junctions become larger and start to allow small particles of food, bad bacteria, and other substances to enter your body causing inflammation. This inflammatory response results in fatigue, joint pain, diarrhea, constipation, and bloating.2
Similar in symptoms to leaky gut, dysbiosis is the imbalance of organisms in the gut that can also lead to a range of issues, such as diarrhea, cramping, constipation, indigestion, and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Many modern practices such as antibiotic use, a Western diet, and high stress lifestyles promote gut bacterial balances/dysbiosis. Dysbiosis can alter food cravings, metabolism, stress reactivity, and mood, compromising overall immune function and health.2
GI tract disorders like IBD are common co-morbidities in stress related disorders, including depression and anxiety9. Long term effects of enduring leaky gut and/or dysbiosis can lead to the development of colorectal cancer, so it is important to address stress management and take steps in healing and protecting the gut.
What’s next?
We have learned that stress affects your microbiome. The microbiome has influence over inflammation, your immune system, mood, and overall health. Enduring stress can increase inflammation, weaken your immune system, hinder the release of your happy chemicals, making it harder to be cheerful or feel joy. Over the next few blog posts, we will cover how to restore and maintain your microbiome and what tools and lifestyle choices can help to lower stress levels leading to a happier, healthier lifestyle.
Need more?
If you are interested in more information regarding stress and your microbiome, menu planning, or have any other concerns regarding your health, please feel free to reach out to Elevate & Nourish to schedule a consultation. We are here to help you elevate your mind and nourish your body!
References:
1. Kellman, Raphael. The Microbiome Diet. New York, NY: Hachette Go; 2020.
2. Madison A, Kiecolt-Glaser J. Stress, depression, diet and the gut microbiota. Curr Opin Behav Sci. 2019. doi: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2019.01.011
3. Tan C, Chow C. Stress and emotional eating: The mediating role of eating dysregulation. Personality and Individual Differences. August 2014. Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2014.02.033
4. How stress can make you eat more – or not at all. Cleveland Clinic. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-stress-can-make-you-eat-more-or-not-at-all/#:~:text=our%20environment%2C%20Dr.-,Albers%20says.,threat%20is%20causing%20the%20stress. Published July 1, 2020. Accessed January 2022.
5. Mohajeri M, Brumer R, Rastall R, et al. The role of the microbiome for human health. European Journal of Nutrition. 2018; 57:S1-S14
6. Stress and the gut microbiome. Microba. https://insight.microba.com/stress-and-the-gut-microbiome/. Published June 18, 2020. Accessed January 2022.
7. The Brain-Gut Connection. John Hopkins Medicine. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/the-brain-gut-connection. Accessed January 2022.
8. Imhann F, Bonder M, Vila A, et al. Proton pump inhibitors affect the gut microbiome. Gut 2016; 65:740-748.
9. Carding S, Verbeke K, Vipond D, et al. Dysbiosis of the gut microbiota in disease. Microbial Ecology in Health and Disease. 2015, 26: 26191.