I am fortunate to know several incredible, hard working and very high-powered women in demanding careers. Many of whom have struggled with digestive issues. Some even hospitalized for emergency digestive-related procedures. Stress’ affect on digestion can also influence nutrient absorption, impacting all systems, so it is important to be aware of ways you can help yourself. Most stress, we cannot control, but we can develop tools to better manage and support ourselves though these periods. When digestion improves, we better assimilate nutrients helping overall health and resiliency.
What stress does to digestion –
The nervous system is divided into two parts. The sympathetic component is better known as “fight or flight” and the parasympathetic component known as “rest and digest.” The nervous system functions unconsciously to control muscles and glands, which regulate blood pressure and body temperature and helps with elimination.
Unfortunately, our primal brains do not know the difference between a presentation deadline and being attacked, so our bodies are in a stressed “fight or flight” state most of the time. The body is focused on keeping you alive; sending energy and resources to vital organs and systems (heart and lungs) rather than digestive systems. The chronic impact of these stressors and the societal expectation to produce, has left people frazzled and tired with digestive symptoms like gas, bloating, indigestion, constipation and/or diarrhea.
To properly break down food and absorb nutrients, we must be in a “rest and digest” state which is challenging considering the endless distractions we are presented.
Ways to support digestion when stressed
- Make your meal a ritual, this helps us be more present at the meal, connecting with our food.
- Take 5 deep belly breaths before you begin eating
- Slow down and chew 20-30 times per bite
- Unplug – no devices or TV when eating
- Walk after meal – 15 minutes of walking after meal helps with digestive motility and blood sugar management and stress management.
In addition to digestive challenges, stress also puts your body on a hormonal roller coaster. Hormones are the body’s communicators. These signals tell your body what to do and when to do it. They control metabolism, energy level, reproduction, growth and development, and response to injury, stress, and environmental factors, so when hormones are out of whack, several systems are impacted. Cortisol is the stress hormone and it affects several aspects of your body but mainly helps regulate your body’s response to stress. It also controls blood sugar levels, and regulates the body’s sleep-wake cycles. When the body is in a state on constant stress, this cortisol cascade can have impact on multiple hormonal systems in the body.
- When cortisol is released, a pituitary hormone is released to reduce intestinal motility, slowing movement of food through our digestive system among other disruptions.
- When digestion shuts off, this can cause a build up of toxins, lower HCL, decreasing vitamin absorption.
- Suppression of sex hormones, leading to female cycle disruption.
- Thyroid function is down-regulated
- Growth Hormone activated
High cortisol contributes to the following issues:
- Digestive issues
- Weight gain
- Anxiety and depression
- Headaches
- Memory and concentration issues
- Sleeping trouble
- Heart issues
5 ways to lower cortisol:
- Practice relaxation techniques: breathing exercises, guided meditation, walking meditation, yoga, visualization, Acupuncture, grounding & spend time outdoors
- Eat a balanced, low sugar diet
- Avoid caffeine
- Limit alcohol
- Exercise, low impact to limit stress on the body
I hope you feel empowered having some tools to help to improve digestion and ways to help lower cortisol. Since stress is so pervasive and harmful to many body systems, more to come on ways to reduce stress!
