Poor digestion, is it caused by stress?

Have you noticed that as long as you are under a lot of stress, you will immediately have gastrointestinal problems such as diarrhea and stomachache. Many people only know that stress can cause insomnia, but rarely think that stress can also affect gastrointestinal health.

As a researcher in the field of biology, I would like to share with you some of my past experiences and insights in the workplace.

01. Personal experience

As we all know, the Chinese Academy of Sciences is full of talents, including many outstanding graduates from famous universities and high academic qualifications. As an old employee who has worked there for several years, the main pressure at work comes from the competition with newcomers and how to strive to get the desired scientific research results as soon as possible. The biggest pressure is the tight scientific research work schedule; the pressure in life mainly comes from family, children, the elderly and other aspects, especially the rapid rise in prices and oil prices, and the cost of living has also increased accordingly. Especially as the pillar of the family, the pressure of supporting the family is really great, and there is no time to accompany my family. I believe that many friends have the same experience as me.

As a result of the mental stress I had recently, my gastrointestinal tract immediately reacted: my appetite was much smaller than before, and what worried me even more was diarrhea, which I had several times a day, and my stool was not formed. Fortunately, a gastroenterologist friend recommended me medication, which helped me feel much better.

Maybe you will ask, why do I have so many problems due to my high mental stress? I tell you, don’t underestimate mental stress. Problems with the digestive system are far more complicated than you think, and the impact of mental stress is far beyond our cognition! ! ! In order to better understand the impact of stress on the digestive system of people in the workplace, I will explain it from two perspectives. First, let’s talk about how stress affects the digestive system, and second, the manifestations and solutions of common problems in the digestive system.

02. What effects does stress have on the digestive system?

I guess everyone has encountered this situation: when you are sad, you lose your appetite or even can't eat, but when you are happy, you eat a lot. This is actually an important manifestation of the influence of mood. Mood can directly affect people's digestion.

For example, there is a study in the Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology. They conducted a health survey in Trondlager, northern Norway. The study involved as many as 65,333 participants, basically covering 70% of the local adult population. The focus was on gastroesophageal reflux disease (GRED). The results showed that if the stress is too high, the symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease will be significantly aggravated. Not only that, but anxiety, depression, insomnia and the like are also clearly related to stress . In addition, people with low job satisfaction are more likely to suffer from gastroesophageal reflux disease [1]

There are many similar studies. For example, a population cohort study at Cambridge University also found a correlation between stomach discomfort and stress [2].

Of course, it is not just a human study. In fact, there are already relevant mechanisms explaining how stress affects the human digestive system. There is an important substance in the central nervous system of the brain called 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), which is an indole derivative. It is present in high levels in the cerebral cortex and synapses . Its main function is a neurotransmitter, of course, an inhibitory neurotransmitter, which can be used to adjust neural activity to play a physiological role.

It is worth mentioning that the gastrointestinal tract also has a high content of serotonin. In fact, 95% of the human body's serotonin is synthesized and exerts its effects in the gastrointestinal tract. It can promote gastrointestinal motility, promote electrolyte and mucus secretion, and improve local blood circulation in the intestinal wall [3].

When a person is under great mental stress, it will cause changes in the secretion of serotonin, which will directly affect the function of the gastrointestinal tract and cause stomach problems [4].

In addition, the researchers also found several cortical areas in the brain that are directly related to the stomach.

To explore the direct connection areas between the stomach and the brain, they creatively used retrograde transneuronal transport of rabies virus to identify the cortical areas that affect parasympathetic and sympathetic control in rats, which enables direct targeting of specific areas.

Next, we identified the area that directly affects the stomach . We found that the parasympathetic output cortical neurons that affect the stomach originate from the insular lobe and medial prefrontal cortex. These areas are directly related to interoception and emotional control. It is no wonder that our emotions directly affect the stomach, since they are directly in the same area [5].

It can be seen from this that the human brain and our stomach are closely related. The parasympathetic nerves of our emotional area and the stomach area are in the same brain area. Therefore, when you feel stressed at work, this area will directly affect your stomach through serotonin , making your stomach uncomfortable.

Therefore, solving stomach digestion problems and relieving stress is a fundamental operation rather than an auxiliary operation.

Of course, conversely, if there is discomfort in the digestive system, it will also have a counter-effect on our brain, making it difficult for people to be happy.

After all, whether it is indigestion or digestive problems such as diarrhea and constipation, it will more or less affect our daily work and life, and naturally make people feel uncomfortable. As the old saying goes: If you can't sleep well, you won't enjoy your food . This is roughly what it means.

03. How to deal with gastrointestinal problems caused by stress?

How to deal with gastrointestinal problems caused by stress? If you have gastrointestinal problems caused by mental stress like me, you need to take a multi-pronged approach.

First, relieve stress

For people in the workplace, work pressure must be relieved reasonably and not allowed to accumulate. If this continues for a long time, it will not only cause problems with the digestive system, but may also lead to a series of other problems.

However, some people will have digestive problems when they are under great pressure. This may be a certain reflex, so we should pay more attention to it. After all, life is not just about the present, but also about poetry and the distance. Why work so hard?

The second is to deal with digestive system problems

Of course, in addition to stress, problems with the digestive system itself are also objectively present. After all, repeated gastrointestinal problems indicate to a certain extent that there are indeed problems with the gastrointestinal system.

04. Common digestive system problems

Let’s talk about common digestive system problems.

**1. Stomach. **The stomach is one of the important parts of digestion. Here, there is both a physical grinding process, that is, turning food into chyme, and a chemical digestion process, such as various digestive enzymes and digestive juices participating in the decomposition of food. The stomach is also a place where problems often occur. Generally speaking, stomach diseases can be roughly divided into several categories.

(1) Excessive gastric acid - stomach burning sensation, acid reflux, and belching

When there is a problem with the secretion of gastric acid, a digestive juice, especially the common excessive gastric acid, acid-suppressing drugs are often used to reduce the secretion of gastric acid from the source.

Of course, there are also some purely neutralizing alkaline drugs, which should be slightly inferior to this type of drugs in terms of mechanism.

(2) Lack of gastric digestive enzymes - problems such as flatulence, stomach fullness, nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and anorexia

There are a series of digestive enzymes in the stomach, and these enzymes also play a role in the stomach. If there is a problem with the secretion of digestive enzymes or the mixing ratio with food, it will also cause stomach discomfort. For example, many people in China are accustomed to eating starchy fruits and vegetables, such as rice, sweet potatoes, potatoes, lotus roots, fruits, etc., and many of these high-starch and high-fiber foods such as sweet potatoes and potatoes are gas-producing foods. To put it bluntly, they contain a lot of carbohydrates and fiber. If there is a problem with the digestive ability, it is easy to have indigestion reactions such as bloating and belching.

In the case of abdominal discomfort, the industry generally believes that it is gastrointestinal motility disorder and digestive enzyme deficiency. In this case, some digestive enzymes can be supplemented appropriately to improve intestinal indigestion symptoms such as bloating and diarrhea.

(3) Helicobacter pylori infection: acid reflux, heartburn, belching, fullness, bad breath and other problems

Helicobacter pylori is one of the key factors affecting gastric disease. When there are too many Helicobacter pylori, it can also lead to gastric disease. The main symptoms are acid reflux, heartburn, belching, fullness, bad breath, etc. Therefore, combating Helicobacter pylori is also a strategy to deal with gastric disease. After years of research, there are now complete strategies for dealing with Helicobacter pylori. For example, quadruple therapy is generally used according to the infection status of Helicobacter pylori.

Quadruple therapy is a treatment regimen for Helicobacter pylori first established in 1995. It consists of four parts:

1) Drugs that inhibit gastric acid, generally proton pump inhibitors.

2) Bismuth agents are themselves a type of mucosal protective agent. Due to their colloidal properties, these drugs can combine with mucosal exudate proteins in an acidic environment to form a strong protective film on the gastric mucosa. They also kill Helicobacter pylori through bismuth ions, thereby exerting a mucosal protective effect.

3) Two types of antibiotics. Antibiotics are mainly used for bactericidal purposes. They are required not to lose their activity in an acidic environment, remain stable, and be able to pass through the mucus layer to reach effective bactericidal concentrations locally.

Quadruple therapy is currently considered to be a better strategy for dealing with Helicobacter pylori. Persistent use can eradicate Helicobacter pylori to a certain extent. Due to long-term use of proton pump inhibitors, patients with chronic gastritis infected with Helicobacter pylori have dysregulation of gastric acid secretion and insufficient digestive enzyme activity in the gastrointestinal tract, which generally causes indigestion symptoms such as bloating, nausea, and belching. Therefore, doctors generally recommend supplementing digestive enzymes to help gastritis recover on the basis of using quadruple therapy to treat chronic gastritis.

**2. Intestine. **The intestine is the main part of digestion, so it is also an important place to solve digestive problems. At present, the common strategy for the intestinal digestive system is to supplement and regulate the intestinal flora, because the intestinal flora occupies the main existence of the intestine and plays many roles in digestion, immunity, etc. Through some microecological preparations such as Saccharomyces boulardii, the normal physiological flora can be directly supplemented, pathogenic bacteria can be inhibited, the digestion and absorption of nutrients can be promoted, and the production and absorption of enterogenic toxins can be inhibited, thereby achieving the purpose of adjusting the intestinal flora.

Of course, other gastrointestinal problem regulation methods should be prescribed by a specialized doctor.

In general, people in the workplace are more likely to suffer from digestive problems under pressure. It is not only due to emotional reasons, but also due to their own diet. They need to pay attention to many aspects, don't put too much pressure on themselves, and take some medicines that can improve the gastrointestinal tract in time to relieve them.

1 Jansson C, Wallander MA, Johansson S, et al. Stressful psychosocial factors and symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease: a population-based study in Norway[J]. Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology, 2010, 45(1):21-29.

2 Wang Xinqiang. Stomach pain is related to stress[J]. Health Care and Life, 2016(10):1.

3 Wang Yuming. 5-HT and functional gastrointestinal diseases[J]. Kaijuanyi (Seeking Medical Advice), 2003(7):17.

4 Oh CM, Park S, Kim H. Serotonin as a New Therapeutic Target for Diabetes Mellitus and Obesity. Diabetes Metab J. 2016;40(2):89-98. doi:10.4093/dmj.2016.40.2.89

5 Levinthal DJ, Strick PL. Multiple areas of the cerebral cortex influence the stomach[J]. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 117(23):13078-13083.

6 Clinical observation on the treatment of functional dyspepsia of liver-stomach disharmony type with Chaihu Shugan powder combined with western medicine - Huang Xiliang, Chinese Journal of Ethnic and Folk Medicine, Vol. 28, No. 16, August 2020