Stress and Digestion

Stress is inevitable and a natural human response that almost everyone experiences. The human body has been designed in such a way that there is a built-in mechanism to react to it. Stress can be a good thing by keeping us alert and ready to avoid dangerous situations we may encounter. When we are stressed, our body produces mental and physical responses. However, when stress becomes chronic - it could lead to a continuous release of stress hormones, which lead to a host of conditions. Some of these are briefly listed below;

• Food Intolerances / Food Allergies—When the body is stressed, it releases histamines, which intensify allergies.
• Leaky gut—Stress influences the mucosal barrier in the small intestine and colon, which contributes to leaky gut.
• Increased belly fat - Stress signals the release of cortisol. Elevated cortisol causes an increase in visceral fat (Belly fat) causes cytokines, which is a dangerous kind of inflammation.
• Elevated blood sugar—When the body is stressed, it produces glucose, which fuels the fight-or-flight response. The body passes sugar along to its muscles, preparing for danger.
• An altered microbiome - Stress affects diversity. The more stressed a person is, the less healthy bacteria exist in their gut.
• Lowered immunity - A huge proportion of our immunity is in our gut and the prolonged effects of stress have an adverse effect on the gut microbiome which can compromise immunity. 
  
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