Common experience tells us that anxiety can have a detrimental influence on our digestive tract. For example, when we’re anxious our stomach can become upset, or our bowel can become disturbed in one way or another. We might say that a certain anxious episode made us ‘sick to our stomach’.
Not only does our emotional state influence our gut, but our gut can influence our mood as well. A study from McMaster University in Canada is demonstrating that the health of our gut has a bearing on our mood.
When dealing with anxiety we often first consider strategies that calm the mind. This Canadian research suggests that we can also work from the bottom up, by supporting our bowel health.
“Don’t get your bowels in an uproar” was an expression that my grandfather, a Canadian by the way, used jokingly when my grandmother became excited when voicing displeasure with him. This idiom seems to reflect an intuitive awareness of this bottom up connection.
The research shows that both the mix of the microflora that inhabit the bowel, along with inflammation of the bowel, can influence mood significantly.
These findings suggest that a comprehensive strategy for dealing with anxiety would include both the top down and bottom up approaches, including:
- Any and all stress reduction techniques: breathing strategies, Havening touch, meditation, exercise, journaling, counseling, yoga, etc.
- Effective stress reduction reduces inflammation, reduces leaky gut, and sends healing signals to the intestinal tract by balancing the autonomic nervous system. So stress reduction is a necessity.
- Probiotics and prebiotics can be used to help repair the microbial balance of your gut.
- Better diet: less sugar and avoiding foods containing antibiotics are a good start for both reducing inflammation and supporting a healthy population of gut bacteria.
- Anti-inflammatory substances to help in quieting an inflamed intestine: turmeric (or curcumin) and resveratrol have both proven to be effective natural anti-inflammatories.
In the past, I’ve written about how a leaky gut creates a leaky blood brain barrier that can contribute to inflammation in the brain. This brain inflammation can influence mood as well as be the foundation for more concerning autoimmune issues. This is another mechanism by which stress and the gut can influence the functioning of our brain.
The remedial steps that I’ve mentioned above apply as well to the leaky gut issue.
Steven Templin, D.O.M., Dipl. Ac. specializes in Acupuncture and Limbic Brain Reprogramming to address the roots of chronic pain and illness. He offers a comprehensive mind-body program for addressing the underlying inflammation, toxicities, and stress-induced causes of most pain and illness.
He places special emphasis on resolving the stress response and repairing adrenal gland and digestive system function to address the root causes of many common and often difficult to treat illnesses.
He translates emerging research in the fields of Epigenetics, Energy Psychology, and Functional Nutrition into effective practices that you can perform at home.
You can work with Dr. Templin in his Lakeland office, or online. You can visit his website at www.stevetemplin.com and contact him via email at drtemplin@gmail.com.
You can schedule an office visit with Dr. Templin by calling 863-838-2779.
Steve is a retired Doctor of Oriental Medicine, Acupuncture Physician, and HeartMath Trauma-Sensitive Certified Practitioner with over 35 years of clinical experience in the fields of Energy Medicine, Energy Psychology, and Biofeedback. 