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The gut microbiome and what keeps it healthy: Stress

The gut microbiome and what keeps it healthy: Stress

Posted on Aug 30, 2022 at 1:12 PM

As a very sensitive organ, the gut is influenced by a whole range of factors every day. One of the biggest influencers on our microbiome is stress. In particular, chronic stress damages or even changes the microbiome and the bacteria and bacilli it contains. Find out how exactly stress affects our gut flora and what you can do about it here. 

5 facts about how stress affects the microbiome

  • Stress signals danger to the brain. The heart beats faster, the muscles tense up, but the intestinal activity is shut down
  • When stressed, the good bacteria in the gut die off and the bad bacteria have a chance to multiply
  • Not only the number, but also the biodiversity of the good bacteria is reduced by stress
  • Chronic stress attacks the intestinal wall and makes it more permeable
  • Stress promotes inflammatory processes in the intestine.

What exactly does (long-term) stress do to the intestines?

As soon as you have stress, some processes start in your body which you cannot control. Your heart beats faster, blood pressure rises, and muscles get ready for a fight or flight, they consequently tense up. All this happens unconsciously and hardly noticeable. The brain sends the message to limit gastrointestinal activity, because they are not necessary for survival in this stressful state.

The result? Gut activity and related processes and tasks are shut down. Unfortunately, this does the intestines absolutely no good. Consequently, you may suffer from diarrhea or, in the case of prolonged stress, constipation. However, the most fatal thing in the long term is that your intestinal bacteria also suffer. Research and especially studies on animals have shown that the intestinal flora changes significantly under permanent stress. The good intestinal bacteria and bacilli die off and the bad ones have more chances to multiply. Even the intestinal wall becomes thinner and more permeable under stress. In the long run, this promotes inflammatory processes and diseases.

What can you do to keep stress from harming your microbiome?

The quick answer to this question is: don't stress. But of course, this is easier said than done. Here you can start at two ends.

First, it's important that your microbiome is healthy. This is because you will be able to withstand stress better, after all, it cannot always be avoided in life. It is important that your microbiome consists of many different bacteria of different species. The more diverse the bacteria, the better this is for our health. The main way you achieve this is through a healthy lifestyle. You can get tips for a gut-friendly diet with enough fiber and probiotics in our other blogposts.

You should also try to avoid stress if possible, or deal with it properly if it does occur. Our blogposts and exercises offer helpful approaches to this as well.

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