April marks a few awareness campaigns but I am going to focus on Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Stress Awareness.
These two conditions are linked. We know stress directly affects the digestive system through a complex connection via the nervous system. As practitioners we often refer to the Gut-brain-axis which describes the two-way communication via the central and enteric nervous system.
In simple terms, evolutionary wise, we would get a stressor eg. a lion chasing us and threatening our lives. This would trigger a potential life-saving response to either ‘fight’ or ‘flight’ via the release of adrenaline and cortisol. This would allow energy to go to our muscles to ensure a fast reaction and simultaneously energy would be removed from the digestive system (as we don’t need to digest if we are fighting a lion and digestion at any one time takes up 10% of total energy output). Once (hopefully) we evaded the lion, these stress hormones would dissipate and we would relax, restoring our digestion to full function. However, nowadays due to our chronically stressful modern lifestyles, many of us are living in this constant state of ‘fight’ or ‘flight’. Health practitioners would often refer to this as ‘sympathetic nervous system dominance’.
So how is this linked to IBS? IBS is a syndrome of the digestive tract with common symptoms being stomach cramps, bloating, diarrhoea and/or constipation. The NHS states that it is usually life-long and there is no cure. Due to the energy pull that stress takes up, long-term stress can make the digestive system sub-optimal. So if you have IBS, stress-management may be a crucial piece to the puzzle.
So what can we do? There is lots that can be done to manage both stress and IBS…
Support the nervous system
· Meditation
· Exercise
· Getting into nature
· Reducing screen/phone use
· Sleeping 7-9 solid hours
· Potentially changing jobs or relationships if that is the problem
· Seek counselling
Increase nutrient-dense foods
· Complex carbohydrates – brown rice, oats, rye, spelt, sweet potato, barley, quinoa
· Protein – organic meats, eggs, sunflowers, sesame, tahini, edamame, organic tofu
· Lots of colorful vegetables 5+ per day and fruit too
· Oily fish – mackerel, sardines, herring, wild salmon
· Avoiding highly processed foods and cooking from scratch
Supplements – to consider, always speak to a registered practitioner for individual advice
· Magnesium
· Fish oil
· B vitamin complex
· L-Theanine
· Pro and pre-biotics
· Digestive enzymes
Written by Rosie Rayner, ND