The body’s natural fight-or-flight response to stress is designed to protect vital functions from attack until the threat is gone. It does this by pumping hormones into the bloodstream, mainly cortisol. The increase in cortisol helps increase your alertness and shift energy to essential bodily functions, temporarily. One function that takes power during stressful periods is the digestive system. The body reduces the energy required to process and digest food in the digestive tract until the stress period ends.
You may have experienced unpleasant reactions, such as stomach cramps and diarrhea, in your gut in response to immediate stress. If you remain in a state of elevated stress for an extended period of time, elevated cortisol levels and stress response systems can do significant damage to your body. Stress can also make existing digestive problems worse, leading to more abdominal pain, nausea, and heartburn. According to the National Institutes of Health, one in five Americans has a common and very uncomfortable digestive disease, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which causes pain, bloating, and sometimes diarrhea and constipation.
Many of these digestive problems seem to react to or become more pronounced in response to stressful situations. Ongoing discomfort can affect your mood and can affect your health. In addition to IBS, you may experience indigestion as another disorder affected by stress. Feeling bloated and wanting to vomit for no apparent reason may be a symptom of a stress response. When the stress goes away, these symptoms go away. You may also experience heartburn as the stomach can cause the stomach to produce more acid. If your diet contributes to heartburn problems, stress can only make them worse.
When your digestive processes are disrupted, it can create an unbalanced bacterial population, starting in your stomach. This can lead to the growth of ulcer-causing bacteria and can worsen conditions where there is inflammation or infection, such as Crohn’s disease. Sustained stress can result in a variety of undesirable physical and functional disorders. While all this is happening, your body’s immune system is compromised for two reasons. Elevated cortisol levels help suppress the immune system as part of the stress response. A malfunctioning digestive system will be unable to extract nutrients from food, further degrading your body’s ability to stay strong and cope with stress.
It is not possible to avoid all events that cause stress. Life goes on all around us and we feel like we are on a roller coaster with emotional ups and downs with each new twist. However, we can take some important steps to keep our bodies working optimally by reducing stress levels and improving our ability to recover from these events. The first thing to think about is a wait time to walk. Whenever possible, at the first sign of stress, try to take a walk of no less than ten minutes. Exercise helps rebalance your hormones and keeps you in balance. Walking near trees and grass will further stimulate positive reactions in your brain, helping you to relax.
Next, make sure your diet is packed with a wide range of nutrient-dense vegetables, fruits, and proteins. Eliminate processed sugars and starches from your diet as much as possible. Excess sugar helps promote inflammation and digestive problems. Finally, add a good multi-species probiotic to your diet, including unsweetened plain yogurt or kefir to help increase the population of beneficial bacteria in your digestive system. Exercise and nutrition will go a long way in helping you manage stress and keep your system running through the upcoming events to come.
