Finish Line: Gut health linked to stress, anxiety
I think people who tell you to do yoga if you are dealing with major stress should be flicked in the forehead.
The problem isn't that yoga doesn't help reduce feeling stressed - it actually does. But most of us who have high-paced, long hours, demanding work lives, don't have that extra hour to add on a yoga class to make us feel better. So we feel stuck - stuck in this stress that just isn't going away.
Since we all have to eat every day, one of the best places to start to help you feel better and help you handle those endless stressors is to look at your gut. When I say gut, I mean your GI tract (gastrointestinal tract), not your unsightly potbelly. Science is finding more and more evidence that the brain-gut connection is way stronger than we ever thought and the gut is extremely sensitive to emotion. No wonder we get gas, diarrhea and nausea when we feel nervous!
According to Harvard Medical School, "The brain has a direct effect on the stomach. For example, the very thought of eating can release the stomach's juices before food gets there. This connection goes both ways. A troubled intestine can send signals to the brain, just as a troubled brain can send signals to the gut. Therefore, a person's stomach or intestinal distress can be the cause or the product of anxiety, stress or depression."
Stress can hurt the gut by affecting its movement, increasing inflammation and even making you more susceptible to infection. Chronic stress suppresses the immune system and gut inflammation can worsen the situation.
If you suffer from heartburn, bloating, loose stools or abdominal pain, see your doctor and make sure to mention the long hours you're working, your marital problems or anything that's weighing on your mind. Remember, just as the brain can affect the gut, the gut can affect the brain. People who suffer from gastroparesis, irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn's disease and other GI disorders often have anxiety and depression as a result of their gut problems.
There's a real stigma when it comes to handling stress, with so many of us hiding how we are feeling. Thanks to advances in GI research, we are beginning to see the human body is far more interconnected, even down to the little bacteria in our gut that help us digest food. Apparently, those tiny guys can also affect our mood!
A personal tip from someone who deals with chronic stomach problems: find yourself a great dietician. They can do wonders for your mood.
I struggled for years with stomachaches and not until I saw a dietician who suggested I might be lactose intolerant did I find relief. Another great anti-inflammatory diet is the FODMAP diet (Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols), which is a weird name for a collection of molecules found in certain foods that are poorly absorbed by some people and lead to pain, bloating and other symptoms. When you're chronically in pain and your gut is out of balance, it's no wonder you're dealing with very real symptoms of stress that are affecting your mood.
In my years of working with both athletes and people in the workforce, stress, anxiety, burnout and depression seem to be the things no one wants to admit to, but everyone wants to talk about. Panic attacks and anxiety are far more common than you think, and I promise you are not the only one feeling anxious.
Take time to do some research, find a good GI doctor, find a dietitian who knows about gut inflammation, and start tweaking your diet. Be patient, because your gut needs time to heal.
Davana Pilczuk has a doctorate in kinesiology and specializes in helping individuals and teams perform better at work, in sports, or in life. Follow her on Twitter @DavanaHPG or contact her at davanapilczuk@hotmail.com.
