PICTURE: PEXELS/STRESSED
Your gut’s bacteria are a key player in the continuous communication between your brain and gut.
Are you wondering how the above-mentioned bacteria have an impact on how your body reacts to stress? It is believed that the bacteria in your stomach have greater power than we have realised, ranging from producing stress hormones to regulating mood.
The below publications examine how this may be the secret to stress management.
According to VeryWell Mind, “Your gut houses trillions of bacteria and millions of nerve cells that manage your digestive processes. These bacteria and nerve cells might also affect how you feel. This means that when you feel happy, anxious, or depressed, your gut may be involved.”
The health website also states that regular exercise and a nutritious diet are well-known physical strategies that support mental well-being. It turns out that maintaining a healthy stomach can also help improve your mood.
David Merrill, a board-certified geriatric psychiatrist claims, “We can support a healthy gut microbiome with dietary changes rich in fibre and prebiotic foods like bananas, onions, and oats, which help feed beneficial bacteria. For supplements, probiotics containing Lactobacillus or Bifidobacterium strains show promise to positively impact mood and stress responses by enhancing microbial diversity.”
Havard Health states that given the close relationship between the stomach and the brain, it is easy to understand why you could experience nausea before a presentation or intestinal pain when under stress.
The source above also adds that however, that doesn’t imply that functional gastrointestinal disorders are “all in your head.” Pain and other gastrointestinal symptoms are caused by a combination of psychological and physical causes.
Also see: Here are medications that don’t mix well with magnesium
