KEEP STRESS OFF YOUR PLATE
Diet, genetics, and medical history are often the first to come to mind when considering factors that influence gut health. But stress is actually one of the biggest disturbances to digestion and the health of the gut microbiome. In fact, stress has been linked to many digestive health issues, including gastric reflux and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).1 Therefore, stress management and self-care are important components of healing the gut and working toward optimal digestive health. It doesn’t matter how much kale and broccoli you eat - if stress is also on your plate, it will impact your body’s ability to properly digest food and absorb nutrients.
The sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems are the two branches of the autonomic nervous system and cannot be activated at the same time. Either you’re preared to “fight or flight” with stress (sympathetic nervous system) or you’re able to “rest and digest” (parasympathetic nervous system). Stress is a normal bodily response to change - whether physical, mental, or emotional. Stress can be caused by a sudden situation where the body abruptly shifts into “fight or flight” mode (e.g. quickly switching lanes to avoid a car crash on the highway) or may be continually triggered over time by chronic events (e.g., repeated exposure to a toxic work environment). In the case of chronic stress, the “fight or flight” mode never shuts off, and the effects of stress can be long-lasting.
While the body was evolutionarily designed to recover quickly from acute, brief stressors (like a lion chasing you!), the body becomes weaker and less resilient in response to chronic stress. When you experienece ongoing stress without relief, your physical and emotional health - including the health of your gut - is negatively affected.
Digestion can be affected by stress and emotions. For example, your appetite may change (increased or decreased hunger), you might crave comfort foods, and a meal that is normally easy for you to digest may cause heartburn.
BUT I’M NOT STRESSED OUT!
Often we’re not aware of the continuous stress we experience, much less its impact on our digestion. When the “fight or flight” response remains activated, the body’s energy is diverted away from digestive functioning (such as the release of bile from the gallbladder and the release of pancreatic enzymes to break down food) and toward managing the stress. Digestion is put on the back burner to allow resources to be conserved while the body is on high alert.
One reason why we may be unaware of our accumulated stress is that we don’t know how to recognize stress, even when we’re feeling it! If everything is generally going well in our lives, we may not see how stress can be involved. It is sometimes assumed that all stress is negative, but this is not the case. Eustress, or “good stress,” is a type of stress induced by positive experiences (such as having a baby, graduating from school, or accepting a work promotion). It’s absolutely normal and okay to be both happy and stressed about something at the same time. What’s important to note during times of eustress, however, is that digestive health may still be impacted. The good news is recognizing stress, in all its forms, can empower you to take actions that reduce stress and support digestive health.
MINDFUL EATING
Learning how to soothe and quiet the stress response before and during meals takes practice and can feel challenging - especially when life feels chaotic. A powerful way to keep stress off your plate is to adopt a practice of mindful eating. Mindful eating is the act of being fully present to all your senses as you eat. It includes an awareness of your thoughts, without judgment, and an account of how you’re feeling physically and emotionally before, during, and after meals.2 Engaging in mindful eating has many benefits, from developing a healthy relationship with food to supporting food choices that are aligned with your health goals. When looking at gut health specifically, mindful eating can transform the mealtime expereince into an opportunity to maximize digestion.
Mindful eating practices allow us to shift out of “fight or flight” mode in our sympathetic nervous system and instead activate the “rest and digest” mode in the parasympathetic nervous system. There are many ways to make this switch. Taking a moment to express gratitude or taking several deep breaths ahead of a meal sets the stage for a relaxing dining expereince. This relaxation allows your body to focus (or single-task) all its energy on digestion. Being present with your food helps prevent stress-inducing distractions from sneaking in. Not only does multitasking while eating shift focus away from your food, but it’s likely to create additional stress as well, as the practice often leads to disjointed thinking and frustration upon interruptions.
Slowing down also allows your digestive system to properly prepare for what’s to come. Seeing or smelling food (for example, catching a whiff of homemade cookies in the oven) activates the cephalic phase of digestion, the initial phase before any food actually hits the stomach. When you smell the sweet aroma of your favorite meal as you sit down to eat, nerve impusles are sent to the brain to jump-start the secretion of digestive enzymes. Looking at and smelling your food, salivating, and chewing are all part of the digestive process. Taking time to honor and notice these things slows you down and can help you digest your food properly.
Once you take your first bite, you can support digestive health even more by chewing food thoroughly. Chewing food well creates an abundance of saliva, which begins to break down foods. Saliva also gives digestion a boost because it contains enzymes such as amylase (to begin digestion of starch) and lipase (to help fat digestion int eh stomach). When you don’t hew your food slowly and thoroughly, it tasks the gut with more work to break down large chunks of food, without enough enzymes to speed the process along. This is not only a recipe for a stomach ache but may cause reduced nutrient absorption.
Practice chewing your food until it’s an even consistency and nearly liquefied. It may not be easy at first, but it’s a mindful practice that can be developed over time.
MINDFUL MEALTIME MAKEOVERS
With a few simple shifts, and regular practice, these small changes can have a large impact on how you digest your food, which may help improve your overall digestive health.
INSTEAD OF: Slouching over the counter, eating out of a box in front of the pantry, or eating standing up in the kitchen…
TRY THIS: Practice sitting down to enjoy a meal. Posture has a big effect on how well you digest what you eat. Sitting while eating slows the movement of food through the stomach, allowing for optimal digestion.3 Think of it this way: Instead of sending energy to your legs while eating, it’s better to reserve it for your gut!
INSTEAD OF: Rapidly scarfing down lunch…
TRY THIS: Ideally, try to make your meals last at least 20 minutes. You can even put your fork down between bites or count the number of chews you take. This encourages smaller bites, which can prevent GI distress from poorly chewed food and swallowing air (hello, bloating!). While this may not be easy or realistic (especially if you don’t have much time between meetings or you’re on call work ), set a goal to practice when it’s best for you (e.g., dinnertime or a weekend meal). Even taking just a few extra minutes to enjoy your meal will go a long way.
INSTEAD OF: Jumping right into a meal while frazzled, anxious, or stressed…
TRY THIS: Consider taking a few deep breaths, briefly meditating, or reflecting on gratitude before sitting down to eat. If you’re coming from a stressful situation, take a few moments to yourself before engaging in a meal. You may also find it helpful to diffuse calming essential oils or listen to relaxing music at mealtimes to please your senses of sound and smell.
INSTEAD OF: Scrolling through your phone or watching television while you eat…
TRY THIS: Make mealtimes a tech-free zone. It’s okay to shut down and log off, especially while eating. Putting the electronics away will not only reduce blue light exposure (important for getting adequate sleep, another factor in gut health4) but also encourage you to be present to all the senses as you eat. How does your food smell? What colors do you see on your plate? What flavors do you taste? How does the texture of the food feel on your tongue?
INSTEAD OF: Reaching for food when you’re not physically hungry…
TRY THIS: Whenever you feel the urge to eat, check in with yourself. Maybe write down what you’re feeling in a word or two. Do you feel any physical sensations of hunger or has another emotion bubbled up, leading you to fill an unmet need with food? For example, if you’re tired and turning to food for energy, consider how you could meet the need by taking a quick nap or resting for a few minutes instead. This mindfulness practice supports stress reduction and helps reduce emotional eating. When you slow down and check in, you can intervene and give yourself what you’re really hungry for instead of snacking on autopilot.
INSTEAD OF: Eating until all the food is cleared from your plate…
TRY THIS: You may have been raised to finish what’s on your plate before you could leave the table, but this ignores your body’s fullness cues. To prevent overeating (and any accompanying GI distress), try using physical rather than visual cues for ending a meal. One way to do this is by using a hunger scale.5 This tool numerically rates hunger and fullness (on a scale of 1-10), with the goal of learning how to eat intuitively - eating only when physically hungry and stopping when full. The lowest rating (1) reflects primal, ravenous hunger, while the highest number on the scale (10) indicates uncomfortable fullness. Give yourself a rating prior to eating and check in multiple times throughout the meal to assess when to put down your fork.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Keeping stress off your plate is a process. You should expect progress, not perfection. There will be days when eating mindfully will be more difficult than others, and that’s okay! Sometimes stress will make its way onto your plate like an annoying side dish. But as you show up to each new meal, you can practice making a choice to include it or not. The more you set intentions to pay attention around mealtimes and apply mindfulness to eating, the more optimal digestion will be.
Footnotes:
Lee, S. P., Sung, I. K., J. H., Lee, S. Y., Park, H. S., & Shim, C. S. (2015). The effect of emotional stress and depression on the prevalence of digestive diseases. J Neurogastroenterol Motil 21(2), 273-282.
Nelson J. B. (2017). Mindful eating: The art of presence while you eat. Diabetes Spectr 30(3), 171-174.
Petre, A. (2017). Is eating while standing up bad for you? Healthline.
Zhao, Z. C., Zhou, Y., Tan, G., & Li, J. (2018). Research progress about the effect and prevention of blue light on eyes. Int J Opththalmol 11(12), 1999-2003.
Derbyshire Community Health Services. (2013) The hunger scale. Derbyshire Healthy Futures Service.
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Yours in wellness,
Marguerite
Inhalene Health and Wellness Coaching