{"id":935,"date":"2021-06-05T22:52:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-06T05:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sovereignlaboratories.com\/blog\/?p=935"},"modified":"2023-01-13T10:27:47","modified_gmt":"2023-01-13T17:27:47","slug":"stress-can-affect-gut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sovereignlaboratories.com\/blog\/stress-can-affect-gut\/","title":{"rendered":"How Stress Can Impact Your Gut Health and Overall Health"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Whether you have extensive family responsibilities, a demanding job, or simply a lot going on in your life, stress is a relatively normal aspect of modern existence. While occasional stress is expected (and in some cases, healthy), constant stress can present some serious effects to nearly all aspects of your health, from your mental health to your muscles. Stress also has a significant impact on the gut and digestive health. Discover how stress can significantly affect gastrointestinal health below.<\/p>\r\n<h2>The Debilitating Effects of Stress<\/h2>\r\n<p>Stress is a natural response to perceived threats and is tied to the body\u2019s \u201cfight or flight\u201d response. While an attacking predator is different from a massive workload, your body treats both as a potential threat. The hypothalamus initiates the process by signaling the adrenal glands to release various stress hormones, particularly adrenaline and cortisol. Adrenaline increases heart rate, blood pressure, and energy reserves. Cortisol, which is the main stress hormone in the body, boosts glucose levels in the blood, expedites your brain\u2019s use of that glucose, and increases the availability of compounds designed to repair tissue.<\/p>\r\n<p>Cortisol also temporarily inhibits any nonessential or potentially detrimental functions in a fight-or-flight scenario, diverting that energy to your immediate survival needs. This results in changes to the immune response as well as suppression of many other organ systems. This response also results in mood changes.<\/p>\r\n<p>These biological processes are based on instinctive behaviors designed to keep you alive, but when you are constantly under stress, your body is unable to turn off that fight or flight response. That results in a constant, steady flood of cortisol and other stress hormones that can interrupt your body\u2019s normal processes. This can result in:<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Occasional headaches<\/li>\r\n<li>Weight gain<\/li>\r\n<li>Cardiovascular concerns<\/li>\r\n<li>Trouble sleeping<\/li>\r\n<li>Occasional memory and concentration difficulties<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p>These negative effects extend throughout the gut and digestive system.<\/p>\r\n<h2>Stress and Your Gut<\/h2>\r\n<p>Stress has a significant impact on your gut and digestion, and much of that comes from the complex, bidirectional link between your brain and your gastrointestinal system. This connection, referred to as the gut-brain axis, often means that stress can trigger gastrointestinal issues or worsen existing ones.<\/p>\r\n<p>The gut houses millions of neurons that are in constant communication with the brain but are independent in their own functions. Along with these neurons, the gut is home to a diverse and complex population of bacteria that contribute to a wide range of functions, such as breaking down food, absorbing nutrients, and producing certain vitamins. The vast network of neurons and the significance of the gut microbiome can both be affected by stress and stress hormones.<\/p>\r\n<p>All of this translates to occasional gastrointestinal issues. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC1774724\/\">Studies<\/a> have found that constant stress, along with mood and adverse life events, may worsen concerns.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>Stress is believed to alter gut motility, resulting in either diarrhea or occasional constipation. Stress may also weaken intestinal barriers, which can result in food particles and bacteria freely entering the bloodstream and triggering an immune response, leading to gastrointestinal concerns. You may also be more susceptible to occasional gas, bloating, and general bowel discomfort.<\/p>\r\n<h2>Coping with Stress<\/h2>\r\n<p>Learning to avoid or cope with stress in constructive, healthy ways may help to strengthen your gut and support your overall health. Here are some tips that may help you manage your stress:<\/p>\r\n<h3>Exercise<\/h3>\r\n<p>Physical activity gives you an outlet to release the physical stress and tension in your body. Exercise also gives your mind something to focus on aside from your mental stressors; it results in the release of dopamine and other feel-good chemicals to ease your body and mind.<\/p>\r\n<h3>Diet<\/h3>\r\n<p>For most people, stress increases appetite, particularly cravings for sweets and other junk foods. Instead of carb-heavy processed foods, try reaching for foods that are good for the gut. This includes probiotics, fiber-rich fruits and vegetables, and whole foods. Bovine colostrum and other supplements may also help to strengthen gut health.<\/p>\r\n<h3>Meditation<\/h3>\r\n<p>Meditation and breathing exercises are known to reduce stress, regulate blood pressure, and support more mindful thinking. Consider taking yoga, which combines meditation with moderate exercise.<\/p>\r\n<p>Stress has become something of a modern issue for everyone, so it\u2019s important to find healthy ways of managing stress on your own, whether that\u2019s building a support system, making lifestyle changes, or seeking professional help.<\/p>\r\n<p>Resources:<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mayoclinic.org\/healthy-lifestyle\/stress-management\/in-depth\/stress\/art-20046037\">https:\/\/www.mayoclinic.org\/healthy-lifestyle\/stress-management\/in-depth\/stress\/art-20046037<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.harvard.edu\/newsletter_article\/stress-and-the-sensitive-gut\">https:\/\/www.health.harvard.edu\/newsletter_article\/stress-and-the-sensitive-gut<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.apa.org\/helpcenter\/stress\/effects-gastrointestinal\">https:\/\/www.apa.org\/helpcenter\/stress\/effects-gastrointestinal<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/badgut.org\/information-centre\/a-z-digestive-topics\/stress-and-your-gut\/\">https:\/\/badgut.org\/information-centre\/a-z-digestive-topics\/stress-and-your-gut\/<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.harvard.edu\/healthbeat\/how-stress-can-make-us-overeat\">https:\/\/www.health.harvard.edu\/healthbeat\/how-stress-can-make-us-overeat<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\r\n\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Whether you have extensive family responsibilities, a demanding job, or simply a lot going on in your life, stress is a relatively normal aspect of modern existence. While occasional stress is expected (and in some cases, healthy), constant stress can present some serious effects to nearly all aspects of your health, from your mental health&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":1937,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Emotional stress affects your gut, so learning to cope in healthy ways will not only help strengthen your gut, but support overall health.","_yoast_wpseo_focuskw_text":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,3],"tags":[34,25,51],"class_list":{"0":"post-935","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-colostrum-benefits","8":"category-colostrum-research","9":"tag-gut","10":"tag-gut-health","11":"tag-stress"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How Stress Can Impact Your Gut Health and Overall Health - Sovereign Laboratories<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Emotional stress affects your gut, so learning to cope in healthy ways will not only help strengthen your gut, but support overall health.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sovereignlaboratories.com\/blog\/stress-can-affect-gut\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Stress Can Impact Your Gut Health and Overall Health\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Whether you have extensive family responsibilities, a demanding job, or simply a lot going on in your life, stress is a relatively normal aspect of modern\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.sovereignlaboratories.com\/blog\/stress-can-affect-gut\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sovereign Laboratories\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SovereignLaboratories\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-06-06T05:52:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-01-13T17:27:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.sovereignlaboratories.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/shutterstock_334226789.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"667\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Samantha Lander\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@SovereignLabs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@SovereignLabs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Samantha Lander\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Stress Can Impact Your Gut Health and Overall Health - 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After spending a considerable amount of time doing \u201call the right things\u201d without seeing any results, she decided to seek out the root cause of her health problems. Samantha was no stranger to the natural abilities of the human body. As a young athlete, Samantha first set goals for herself in team sports such as synchronized swimming, water polo, and field hockey. In high school, she focused on rowing, where she was a member of the St. Louis Rowing Club &amp; one of a team of eight young women who were ranked nationally. Samantha\u2019s perseverance to improve her health and her athletic ability created a career path as a Functional Diagnostics Practitioner. After receiving her B.A. in Sports Management &amp; Functional Movement from the University of Michigan in 2003, she decided to open her own holistic practice, See Fit. Today, she works with clients to identify the root cause instead of a \u201cband-aid\" approach. Using an individualized, holistic path, she incorporates lifestyle, diet, rest, exercise, stress reduction, and supplementation to help her clients achieve their ultimate health and wellness goals regardless of their current age, gender, and ability.","sameAs":["https:\/\/sovereignlaboratories.com"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sovereignlaboratories.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sovereignlaboratories.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sovereignlaboratories.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sovereignlaboratories.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sovereignlaboratories.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=935"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.sovereignlaboratories.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/935\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2022,"href":"https:\/\/www.sovereignlaboratories.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/935\/revisions\/2022"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sovereignlaboratories.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sovereignlaboratories.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sovereignlaboratories.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sovereignlaboratories.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}