All-Day-Bloating & Managing the The Gut Brain Connection
Maybe its a post-covid lockdown thing, or a 2020 thing, but recently in clinic I have had numerous clients with the same symptoms:
Bloating that builds steadily throughout the day
Social anxiety or a low level chronic form of anxiety, or stress, or worry, or low mood
Gut pain, cramps and or wind
Working in digestive health – I see a lot of clients with bloating. In fact all clients with gut issues express some form of bloating. I’ve seen hundreds of clients and have started to notice patterns. It is my job to decipher what your body is saying and unfortunately with the gut it can take some very expensive tests to get a diagnosis! So when I see the ‘All Day Bloat’ (ADB) combined with stress or anxiety, I’m usually thinking it’s got something to do with the Gut Brain Connection.
Sure, it could be SIBO, a parasite, diet or leaky gut, but chances are the ADB has something to do with the relationship between your brain and your gut.
What’s behind the All Day Bloat? And why is my anxiety and depression getting worse?
The ADB: This is the kind of bloating that when you wake up in the morning you have a flat tummy, then by bedtime you feel six months pregnant. When combined with stress, it’s pretty much guaranteed its some sort of neuroendocrine disruption.
The intricacies of the Gut Brain connection are many and varied so I will touch on two main aspects: Gut bacteria and your mood, and why we bloat when stressed.
The gut and the brain - An intimate partnership:
We all know by now that your emotions and thoughts affect your gut. For example, even thinking about Pana ice cream on a hot day makes your mouth water, it gets the saliva and digestive juices flowing. Or when we are nervous we experience a knot in the stomach or loose bowels. The connection between gut and brain goes both ways.
In fact, about 90% of messages between gut and brain are going from the gut to the brain, via the vagus nerve and not the other way round! Therefore a troubled gut = a troubled brain, and person's stomach or intestinal distress can be the cause or the product of anxiety, stress, or depression.
Your gut has its own nervous system. Its called the Enteric Nervous System (ENT). There are an estimated 100 million neurons in your small intestine alone.
The gut or ENS can trigger profound emotional shifts especially in people with IBS and gut disorders like constipation and diarrhoea. This is why a high percentage of people with IBS and other gut issues develop mood disorders like anxiety and depression.
Your Gut Bugs and Your Mood
An influential aspect of the Gut Brain connection are your neurotransmitters and your gut bacteria.
Neurotransmitters are the body's chemical messengers, transmitting messages between neurons in the nervous system. The trillions of bacteria in our guts can both produce and consume a wide range of neurotransmitters, including dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, or gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA).
This has a profound effect on our mood. Take for example, serotonin - the feel good neurotransmitter that induces feelings of happiness and wellbeing: 95% of all of our serotonin is in the gut. A shortage or serotonin can cause addiction, constipation and depression.
Serotonin not only helps us feel good but is also involved in the peristaltic reflex – it helps the gut move properly. Any alterations in serotonin signalling may be responsible for IBS symptoms of increased pain sensitivity, constipation and diarrhoea.
Makes sense that we want optimal bacteria producing this precious molecule right?
Whats behind the All Day Bloat?
The SNS, PNS and getting ready for food.
Your nervous system has different divisions, or ‘modes’. Without going into too much detail, two of these modes are:
The Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) or the “fight or flight’ NS.
The Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) or ‘rest and digest NS.
When we are in a relaxed resting state we are in parasympathetic mode. This means you can rest, digest and learn. Everything is great. When you experience physiological, psychological or emotional stress the sympathetic or ‘quick run away!’ nervous system is activated and takes over.
Because of this, our digestive system gets shut down, and our hydrochloric acid and digestive enzymes are switched off. What should be a robust digestive ‘fire' able to break down and assimilate food is now nothing but a tiny sputtering ember.
If you try to eat food in a sympathetically dominant state - it can result in bloating, cramping and pain, and you wished you didn’t wear those skinny jeans.
While in SNS mode, your body is not prepared to receive food. Without the help of the mechanical and chemical digestive processes mentioned above – food sits in your stomach and intestines, it ferments, our gut bacteria is unable to break down the food and bloating occurs. Now imagine this scenario played out, day after day, meal after meal. This low-level, chronic activation of the SNS means you are not absorbing nutrients and your digestive capacity or ‘fire’ is diminished.
See how to induce the Rest & Digest nervous system here with my mini meditation:
Strategies to reduce the all day bloat:
1. Switch On your Digestive Fire:
Use herbs and Enzymes to prepare your gut for food:
Take a hydrochloric acid and / or a digestive enzyme supplement to help digest your food.
Use herbal bitters. The bitter taste stimulates digestive secretions – bitter is not a pleasant taste but it works! Use bitters such as Swedish Bitters or Iberogast ten minutes before meals to increase your digestive capacity. My favourite bitter herbs that calm the gut brain activation and reduce bloating are Chamomile and Lemon Balm and Angelica archangelica.
Stop drinking whilst you are eating. Drinking liquids especially old ones further dilutes what precious enzymes and acids you have lest. Sip warm tea or water with a meal or better yet wait 20 mins before or after your meal.
Chew your food. Sounds simple, we often don’t do it properly! 20 chews per bite.
2. Calm the SNS and Induce the PNS
Stress Management
Take frequent breaks throughout the day, a quick walk, deep breaths or take your shoes off and sit on the grass. Feel your body.
Magnesium and B vitamins can help, alongside exercise or movement such as pilates, swimming or yoga. It is essential to develop some beneficial lifestyle habits, the solution is never just in a pill.
Mind Body Tools
Practice mindful eating: See my mindful pre-meal practice to do before meals here.
It involves deep breathing and taking in your food with all your senses before eating to make sure you are in the ‘Rest & Digest’ state.For chronic stress and gut issues you will need tools: Mind body therapies such as hypnotherapy, EFT tapping and Cognitive Behavioural therapy work wonders as down- regulating an overactive gut brain connection.
3. Take specific probiotics
There are certain probiotics shown to improve mood and sleep, and to reduce bloating. In my practice I use strain specific probiotics to do this as all strains accomplish different things. I recommend Activated Probiotics ‘Biome Lift’ or a strain called L. plantarum 299v.
