Stress and gut health have huge impacts on each other.
Here’s what to know about the connection, straight from top gastroenterologists.
Think Youve Got Food Poisoning?
Youre not just imagining that gut feeling when something just doesnt feel right.
It consists of nerve networks thatrun from your esophagus to your anusand connect directly into the entire digestive system.
Its a very complex and only partially understood internet, says Dr. Poppers.
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When youre stressed, this gut-brain axis carries high-alert stress signals from the brain to the gut.
We dont know specifically what its doing and whether those changes are temporary or long-term, says Dr. Poppers.
Want to know more about gut health?
We all respond to stress differently, and we all have different GI symptoms, says Dr. Lee.
A majority of the bodys serotoninthe happy hormoneis made in the gut.
There are more serotonin receptors along [the] GI tract than in the brain, says Dr. Lee.
Serotonin sends signals between the brain and the gut, and controls contractions of the GI tract.
Do you tend to catastrophize or see the worst possible outcomes in every situation?
Or do you find healthy ways to cope with your stress and look for alternate perspectives?
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If youre experiencing these symptoms, be sure to check in with your doctor ASAP.
Acute stress generally passes.
Chronic stress doesnt, and it can have a significant impact on the body in the long term.
Long-term exposure to cortisol also decreases the bodys ability to heal, explains Dr. Lee.
reviewed by Jennifer Gilbert, MD, MPH
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