The mind-gut connection - How does stress impact the gut?

We collaborated with MoliCare to reveal the unexpected link between stress and digestion and understand how stress can affect your gut. Discover strategies to alleviate digestive issues and enhance your general well-being. If you experience incontinence, we offer a diverse selection of MoliCare incontinence pads on our website.

You might have come across the increasing number of studies indicating a proven link between the mind and the gut, but what does this imply? Chances are you've encountered the mind-gut connection numerous times. Has your stomach ever felt tied in knots? Have you experienced butterflies in your stomach? Do you feel queasy when anxious or have diarrhoea when stressed?

If you can answer yes to any of the above questions, you're already acquainted with this link. But how does stress impact the digestive system? Grasping the mind-gut connection can aid in alleviating digestive issues, addressing various ailments, boosting your energy levels, and feeling top-notch.

In this article:

• What Is The Mind Gut Connection?
• Physical and Mental Symptoms Associated With The Mind Gut Connections
• How Does Stress Impact The Gut?
• How Does Stress Impact Your Body?
• What Can You Eat To Look After Your Gut?
• What Lifestyle Choices and Activities Can Help Your Gut?
• Six Tips for a Gut Health Diet

The gastrointestinal system is quite sensitive to our wide array of emotions. It's very usual for people to experience intestinal distress when they feel sad, anxious, stressed, or angry. Hence, some people tend to feel queasy when they're grieving or lose their appetite completely when stressed.

Our thoughts and emotions have a direct and clear effect on our stomachs. When we start thinking about eating, our brain sends signals to our stomach so it can start to prepare and release acids to digest our food. If you're mentally troubled, your brain might send incorrect signals to your stomach at inappropriate times. This can lead to digestive issues when feeling down, stressed, or unable to stop overthinking.

There are numerous cases in which an individual experiences symptoms of a stomach upset without a clear-cut cause. Despite spending years searching for the source of the issue, the answer may lie within their mind.

Physical and Mental Symptoms Associated With The Mind Gut Connections

The experts at MoliCare® These highlight just some of the physical and mental symptoms that you might experience if you’re stressed: 

• Trouble falling asleep, or staying asleep
• Painful and prolonged recurrent headaches
• A sudden gain or loss of weight
• A lack of concentration or focus
• Feeling extreme hunger or experiencing a loss of appetite
• Withdrawing from social interactions
• Crying
• Feeling nervous and being unable to relax
• Memory loss and difficulty remembering things 

It's important to note that the mind-gut connection is a two-way street, meaning that not only can stress impact our digestive system, but our digestive system can also impact our mental health.  

Now that you're clued up on the solid connection between your gut and mental well-being, it's evident why you might encounter stomach discomfort or pain when stressed, or feel those "butterflies" in your stomach when embarking on a new job.

However, some people assume that the mind-gut connection implies that the symptoms mentioned above are ‘all in a person’s head’. Although these symptoms may stem from stress and anxiety, the resulting physical symptoms are indeed genuine problems. The problems originating in the brain bring about actual physiological alterations in your body, leading to significant inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract and other issues.

Now that we've established that stress affects your gut significantly, let's explore its impact on your body. What are the effects of stress on the digestive system? When confronted with a serious or threatening event, your sympathetic nervous system goes into overdrive. This part of the nervous system is in charge of breathing, blood pressure, and your heartbeat.

When encountering stress and the ‘fight or flight’ response, your sympathetic nervous system releases a surge of the stress hormone cortisol. This hormone is intended to sharpen your body's alertness and readiness to confront any danger.

Cortisol elevates your alertness, causing an increase in heart rate, accelerated breathing, and elevated blood pressure. It also raises blood cholesterol levels and induces muscle tension, affecting areas like the intestines, bowel, and rectum, leading to disruptions in the digestive system.

 Causing: 

• Oesophageal spasms 
• An increase in stomach acids, causing heartburn, acid reflux, and indigestion 
• Nausea 
• Diarrhoea and leakage requiring MoliCare® incontinence pads
• Constipation 
• Cramping and stomach pain 
• Lower back pain 
• Excess gas and flatulence 

Chronic stress can have a significant impact on the digestive system. In severe cases, it can lead to restricted oxygen and blood flow in the stomach, resulting in severe cramping, inflammation, and thrush. These symptoms can be especially problematic for individuals who already have intestinal issues. Stress has been associated with exacerbating several gastrointestinal conditions, including:

• Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) 
• Peptic ulcers 
• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) 
• Acid reflux  

If you have encountered any of these issues or are affected by these conditions, it is advisable to take steps to lower your stress levels. Here are some lifestyle choices and activities you can engage in to help reduce your stress levels and, consequently, improve your gut health.

The saying "you are what you eat" could be more accurate than you realize. Numerous foods can enhance your gut health and overall mental and physical well-being.

It is important to consume a variety of probiotic and prebiotic foods. Although these two terms sound alike, there is a significant distinction between them. Prebiotics 'fertilise' the bacteria already present in your gut, whereas probiotics introduce beneficial bacteria into your gut.

Prebiotics encourage your body to cultivate a community of microbes and are present in complex carbohydrates such as vegetables, whole grains, beans, and legumes.

Probiotics are foods that contain a wide range of live 'good' bacteria that support your gut health. These foods comprise live yoghurt, certain raw cheeses, and fermented foods. Some prime examples of fermented foods encompass kombucha, sauerkraut, kefir, kimchi, and miso paste. Not only do these foods taste great, but they can also aid in alleviating your gut issues.

In addition to the dietary choices listed above, there are several other lifestyle choices you can make to enhance your gut health and boost the overall mind-gut connection.

• Meditate and practice mindfulness – Meditation is known to calm the mind, resulting in a whole host of benefits to the mind, body, and soul. 
• Practice yoga – Yoga has been shown to bust stress, boost flexibility, and improve overall physical health. 
• Exercise regularly – Exercise helps to keep your body in good shape and can reduce stress levels. 
• Get a good amount of sleep – Recent studies show that getting good quality sleep is more important than previously thought. It allows you to rest, recharge, and rebuild your body, helping your mental health and stress levels. 
• Cut back on alcohol – Drinking can feel good in the moment, but overindulging actually makes you more stressed than you were before you started. It is imperative that you cut down on alcohol if you want to improve your stress levels. 

MoliCare Shares Six Tips for a Gut Health Diet

1. Eat a broad range of plant-based foods – In order to have a healthy gut, you need to consume a diverse number of microbes, all of which come from different healthy foods.
2. Consume more probiotic foods – Eat a high amount of probiotic foods.
3. Up your fibre intake – While you might think you are eating enough fibre, you can always stand to consume more nuts, fruit, vegetables, and whole grains. Just remember that if your current diet is low in fibre, an increase can cause you to experience wind and bloating. Add more fibre gradually and boost your water intake.
4. Use extra virgin olive oil as your fat of choice – Extra virgin olive oil is packed full of microbe-friendly polyphenols and should be your ‘go-to’ fat.
5. Stay away from highly processed foods – Sure, highly processed ‘fast’ foods taste good and pack a big punch of flavour, but they can wreak havoc on your gut health. They can hinder your good bacteria and help your bad bacteria flourish.
6. Change up your diet when taking antibiotics – Antibiotics are a necessary medical intervention, but they work by killing your ‘good’ bacteria right alongside the ‘bad’. If you need antibiotics, make sure you eat lots of foods that boost your microbes afterwards. 
    

Looking after your gut health will enhance your overall health. Consuming more probiotic and prebiotic foods, along with reducing stress through lifestyle changes, helps minimize the impact of stress on the digestive system. In essence, prioritising gut health can greatly influence your overall well-being.