Stomach in a twist?

Understanding the stressful “I have knots”

Tight deadlines, working long hours, unreasonable workloads, heavy traffic, a first date, a big presentation at work or just having too much to do and not enough time to do it in. Most of us are familiar with these kinds of daily stresses that get your stomach churning or doing the flips, or that gives you “butterflies” or “knots” in your tummy. Of course, just having a digestive condition interfere with your daily life can be a source of anxiety in itself.

How stress affects your gut

Studies show that a stressful event long-since passed could still be affecting your gut even now. Stressful life events are associated with the onset or worsening of digestive symptoms such as gas, bloating, indigestion, heartburn, diarrhoea or constipation¹. Being stressed-out also causes many of us to overeat, comfort eat, engage in mindless snacking, drink alcohol and sleep less, all of which affect gut health and function.

So, what is the real effect of stress on your gut? The specific signs and symptoms of stress vary from person to person, but the potential to harm your health, emotional well-being, and relationships with others is real. When you’re stressed, the nerves in your digestive tract become more hypersensitive and may be irritated, so you might get stomach cramps, gas pain and trapped wind, or become nauseated².

Many studies show that stress increases gut motility and fluid secretion. Gastrointestinal motility is the process by which food, liquids, and waste travels through the digestive tract as it’s digested via a series of rhythmic intestine contractions called peristalsis. This is why you might get a bout of diarrhoea, or repeated urges to urinate and excessive sweating, during or after a stressful event.

Stress, certain medications, alcohol, caffeine, alkaline diet, sweetened or processed foods may affect the natural acidity level of the stomach. This can cause an imbalance or change in the natural pH of stomach acid, which can lead to heartburn, acid reflux, indigestion, gas, bloating, and sometimes ulcers.¹

Stress can either delay the emptying of stomach contents or speed up the movement of waste through your intestines¹. This combination of activity leads to stomach pain, cramps, gas, bloating and changes in bowel (toilet) habits. In addition, stress affects your mind, body, and behaviour in many ways apart from the gut, including gaining or losing weight, headaches, muscle tension, body pains, mood swings, and changes in your mental health and functioning².

The digestive process starts in your mouth, when you take a bite. Your salivary glands make saliva, a digestive juice, which moistens food so it moves more easily down your throat into your stomach. Saliva is about 99% water and not only moistens food but cleanses the mouth and dissolves food chemicals so they can be tasted. Saliva also contains enzymes that begins to break down starchy foods into sugars. This is why you get a sweet taste in the mouth when you chew on starchy foods like bread. To keep your saliva going, drink water, don’t rush eating, and chew slowly to promote healthy digestion.

Take charge of stress

Here are a few tips to help you beat stress and get your gut back on track:

• Have a good belly laugh with a friend or by yourself, and make an effort to look on the lighter side of life. As the saying goes, laughter is good medicine. Go ahead and give it a try!
• Learn to breathe more slowly and deeply from your abdomen. One way to do this is to imagine that you have a small beach ball behind your belly button, which you slowly inflate and deflate.
• Eat healthy and slowly as well as choose eating times wisely.
• Get good enough sleep to relieve stress, and to improve your energy and mood.
• Take herbal supplements which provide multi-symptom relief by stimulating bile and digestive secretions, making them a wonderful remedy for indigestion, gas, bloating, painful stomach cramps, heartburn, loss of appetite and nausea.
• Combine a unique multi-action blend of super-nutrients such as probiotics, prebiotics, fibre, digestive enzymes and herbs, which are valuable for the health and functioning of your gut, providing benefits ranging from aiding digestion to alleviating common gut ailments.
• Lastly, every now and then take breaks, go on holiday, play and relax your body, mind and soul.

If you, or a family member, are suffering from stress-induced digestive discomfort, Spasmopep^®’s herbal-infused remedies could assist you in alleviating these symptoms.

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