Stress, Anxiety & Gut Health: What is the Link?

Stress impacts our health in a big way.

Every system of our body has the potential to be negatively affected by acute stress, chronic stress and anxiety.

The main body systems that are at a high risk of being severely affected by stress include our endocrine (hormone) system, our immune system and our digestive system. 

Throughout this article we are going to focus on the impact that stress and anxiety can have on our gut and what we can do to reduce the burden that stress has on our body.

What is stress?

Stress comes in many forms. We have mental and emotional stressors like work stress, family stress and emotions that cause stress like anger, frustration, grief, uncertainty and worry, just to name a few.

In addition to mental and emotional stress, we have physical stress. Things like our diet, our toxin exposure, nutrient deficiencies, excessive exercise or lack of exercise, dieting (prolonged fasting and/or restriction of any kind), hormone imbalance, a lack of sleep and a lack of sunlight all cause stress, and the list does not end there.

It is impossible to avoid all stress, nor would we want to. But when our body becomes overburdened, our health begins to suffer.

When I work with someone to heal a stress-induced health issue, our primary goal is to reduce exposure to the stressors that are within our control and increase resilience so we can cope better with those stressors that are out of our control.

What is the link between stress and gut health?

There is an interesting relationship that exists between stress and gut health.

First and foremost, when we are stressed or anxious our stomach acid drops.

When this occurs, the protective mucous produced by our stomach also drops, which continues to down regulate acid production, which continues to down regulate mucous production and all of a sudden we find ourselves experiencing indigestion, bloating, reflux and, in severe cases, gastritis or stomach ulcers.

Optimal stomach acid is required to assist us in breaking down food so we can utilise the nutrients. When stomach acid drops, we risk vitamin, mineral and protein deficiency. These deficiencies can lead to fatigue, blood sugar fluctuations (which is a major cause of anxiety and binge eating), and an impaired resilience to stress.

These deficiencies also contribute to the development of other health issues like immune dysfunction, hormone imbalance and weight gain, but more on that another time.

To make matters worse, when we experience issues like indigestion or reflux, we often turn to acid lowering medication, which further exacerbates the nutrient deficiencies and can increase your risk of certain severe health issues (1).

Lowered stomach acid and indigestion is just the tip of the iceberg.

When stomach acid is low, the whole digestive system, especially the small intestine, runs the risk of developing a microbiome imbalance.

Stress alone affects gut bacteria and the microbiome, and changes in the microbiome of the digestive system negatively affect mental health (sounds like the start of a vicious cycle!) (2) (3)

"Bad bacteria" AKA "un-helpful microbes" thrive in a low acid environment.

These unhelpful types of bacteria can cause food intolerance, leaky gut, constipation, diarrhea, bad breath, fatigue, nausea and skin issues like acne and eczema. An over growth of "bad bacteria" can aggravate auto immune disorders, negatively affect our immune system, alter our mood and cause a tendency towards anxiety and depression.

When problems like food intolerance and leaky gut develop, we can feel constantly bloated, puffy and inflamed. We may experience frequent headaches, brain fog, fluid retention, cravings for carbs and sweets and we can experience extreme fatigue. Some women express that they feel like they are "nine months pregnant" after eating but can't seem to identify the cause.

This is the point where women usually book in to see me. They have been stressed and anxious for too long. They are tired, foggy and "over it". Their health and digestive system feels completely out of whack, which causes more stress, anxiety and overwhelm and they find themselves in a position where they don't know where to start.

This is how I can help.

I understand that changing your diet and lifestyle is the last thing you want to do when you're feeling exhausted, stressed and overwhelmed.

The good news is, I've been there and I've created solutions to meet you where you're at.

What are the steps?

First and foremost, we need to reduce stress and increase resilience.

Depending on your health and preferences, we may consider a bio resonance scan and treatment, which is an effective way to reduce the symptoms of stress, anxiety and an unhappy gut. We may consider a short hypnosis audio which you can use as you go to bed at night to reduce stress and increase resilience. We may consider herbal medicine or key nutrients to support your body to heal, to improve sleep, to reduce inflammation and to increase energy.

When it comes to diet, I will help you to identify the major triggers, and in most cases we will need to swap these "problem" foods for foods that are easier to digest. While we do this, we will work on healing your digestive system so you will be able to tolerate a much wider variety of food in the future.

You will leave your initial consult with a clear, easy to follow plan and in most cases we can begin to see improvement within the first 2 weeks.

Treatment plans are unique and tailored to your individual needs but here are 4 things you can start doing right now:

1. Carrot Salad

Enjoy a small handful of grated carrot with 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar (with the mother), 1 tsp of olive oil and a generous sprinkle of salt before meals. Aim to eat this salad 10-15 minutes before eating your main meals to gently increase stomach acid and enzyme activity.

2. STOP drinking water before and during meals

Drinking water before and during meal times will "dampen" stomach acid, making it difficult to digest your meal and increasing your risk of indigestion and bloating. If you must drink with your meal you could consider a nice, warm, herbal tea. Peppermint and dandelion is a lovely, digestive system soothing blend.

3. Eat in a calm, relaxed state (easier said than done, I know)

Digestion begins in the mouth. Sit down to eat, free from distractions like TV and your phone, take a few deep breaths and slow down. Chew your food slowly and thoroughly, listen to your body and stop eating when you feel comfortably full. 

4. Stop eating fancy foods

Isn't it strange that our parents (or grandparents depending on your age) never had a problem with wheat, dairy, sugar or food in general. What has made us so special?

I understand that food is not the same as it used to be, but in our attempt to avoid these demonised foods, we have found ourselves eating things that are not made for humans to digest.

Keep it simple. White rice and potato is going to be easier to digest than brown rice and quinoa. Real sugar (fruit, honey, maple syrup) is going to be less disruptive to our digestive system than artificial sweeteners and additives. High quality dairy products are going to be more nourishing than nut milks and soy (which often cause many of the symptoms we want to heal).

Summary

Stress and anxiety affects gut health and gut health directly affects your mood. As you begin to spiral into this negative cycle, making a change can feel exhausting and over whelming but there are easy ways to get your health back on track.

If you are struggling with stress, anxiety and gut health issues and feel like you don't know where to start, I can help.

My approach is gentle and I use a unique combination of naturopathic principles and bio energetic medicine. I will support you to take action to heal in a way that is easy, enjoyable and sustainable.


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(1) Maintenance therapy with proton pump inhibitors and risk of gastric cancer https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29084798/ 

(2) Stress, depression, diet, and the gut microbiota: huma-bacteria interactions at the core of psychoneuroimmunology and nutrition https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7213601/

(3) Gut microbiota's effect o mental health: The gut-brain axis https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5641835/