Combating Stress in the Gut!
Written By: Brain, Behavior and Immunity
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Published - Jan 24, 2012
We’ve all had that stressful feeling in the gut. Maybe it’s work related stress, financial difficulties, relationship problems or just the daily grind of life that’s become a chronic pain in the middle. Whatever the cause, an upset digestive system can make matters worse! Diarrhea, gas, bloating, pain and discomfort can all make your already challenging issues even harder to deal with! What to do? Probiotics may provide an answer. Imbalance of what’s called “intestinal flora”, can make a big difference in how our bodies deal with digestion. We must have helpful bacteria doing their work in the gut at all times, processing the nutrients we take in from foods and eliminating the wastes we don’t need. It’s a balancing act by our system and unfortunately, stress can contribute to an imbalance. According to a study conducted at Ohio State University, published in the journal, Brain, Behavior and Immunity, researchers found that stress alters the normal balance of gut bacteria, making us more vulnerable to disease and to complications of improper digestion. Helpful bacteria are destroyed by stress-related reactions, giving the harmful bacteria also present in the digestive system an opportunity to flourish. As a result, these alterations in intestinal flora can lead to gastrointestinal diseases like IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), Chron’s disease and even immune system deficiency conditions like rheumatoid arthritis.