How Do Stress, Emotion, and Diet Affect the Gut?

Stress, Emotion, Diet and the Gut

The Gut – Brain Connection

It has becoming more accepted in the psychiatric literature as well as in the functional medicine that there is a bidirectional connection between the brain (central nervous system) and the gut (the gastrointestinal tract) through endocrine pathways.

Stress Affects The Gut

Stressors of various nature, either psychological or physiological, can alter the gut microbiota’s composition and the changes in the microbiota, represented through metabolic activities can influence the brain response.

Emotion and the Limbic System

The limbic system plays a central role in regulating emotion and also is the center of the gut control. The generation of emotions and attached physiological reactions are most likely generated at this brain level (a very primitive part of the brain).

Depression and The Gut

In more recent scientific communications it has been suggested that depression can promote intestinal permeability as a result of chronic inflammation leading to a condition known as ‘leaky gut’. Leaky gut is another name for intestinal hyper-permeability that allows different substances (such as toxins, microbes and undigested food particles) to pass into the blood stream.

Diet and the Gut

Diet plays an important role in addressing the condition, such as ingestion of probiotics and prebiotics. Probiotics are beneficial forms of gut bacteria that helps the intestine to function properly. Examples of probiotic foods include: yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, dark chocolate, microalgae, miso soup, pickles, tempeh (made from soy, a great source of vitamin B12 too), kimchi (an Asian form of pickled sauerkraut), Kombucha (fermented tea). For those who don’t find any of these appealing, tablets of probiotics are also good.

Prebiotics and the Gut

The prebiotics are enzymes that help the good bacteria to grow in the intestine. They are found in asparagus, Jerusalem artichokes, bananas, garlic, onions, oatmeal and legumes. They are also available in forms of supplements.

Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity

Another source of interest in affective disorders as well as in autism, and schizophrenia has been the Non-Celiac Gluten sensitivity (NCGS). The literature and studies are limited on the subject but it has been suggested that there is a relationship between the NCGS and neuropsychiatric disorders. Some studies point at the inflammation triggered by the gliadin in people sensitive to it and the ‘leaky gut syndrome’ associated with it. The IgA detected in affected individuals suggest an inflammatory response to the gliadin that is found in wheat, barley, rice, and an exclusion of these products could reduce the neuropsychiatric symptoms associated with the "leaky gut" (migraines, Irritable Bowel syndrome, tiredness, chronic fatigue, etc).

Listen To Your Body

Because research on diet and gut is still in it’s infancy it is important that you monitor how you feel after you eat certain foods. Obviously, if a food makes you feel bad you can reduce or eliminate it and see how you feel.

Integrative Treatment in Psychiatry

We take an integrative treatment approach with all our clients because we believe that any treatment that we recommend should be based on a very thorough history, questionnaires, targeted laboratory testing, and results from a physical exam.

Examples of core imbalances we assess for include:

• Structural, boundary, and membrane imbalances

• Genetic Mutations

• Psychological and Spiritual

• Hormonal and neurotransmitter imbalances

• Oxidation-reduction imbalances and mitochondrial dysfunction

• Detoxification, neurotoxicity, and biotransformation imbalances

• Immune imbalances (Cytokine hypothesis)

• Inflammatory imbalances

• Digestive, absorptive, and microbiological imbalances

To schedule your first session call us at 713.426.3100

References:

1. Inflammation:Depression Fans and Flames and Feasts on the Heat: Kiecolt-Glase PhD, and colab, Am J Psychiatry, 172:11, November 2015, pg 1075-1091
2. Brain–gut connections in functional GI disorders: anatomic and physiologic relationships: Jones, MD and colab, Neurogastrointestinal Motil, 2006, 18, 91-103.
3. Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity: The New Frontier of Gluten Related Disorders, Catassi and colab, Nutrients 2013, 5, 3839-3853

Summary: Blog Article by Psychiatrist Daniela White, M.D. on How Do Stress, Emotion, and Diet Affect the Gut.

-See more at:- How Do Stress, Emotion, and Diet Affect the Gut?

Midtown Psychiatry and TMS Center provides integrative treatment in Texas. We help control stress through our Stress-Less program focusing on lifestyle changes in food, movement, sleep and emotional intelligence.