Digestion and Mental Health

Perhaps, you’ve heard that gut health and mental health are closely related. Do you know what that actually means in real life? This relationship may be more complex than you realize. Digestion is actually a full-body process, starting in your brain, and involves a multi-system collaboration, including hormonal, endocrine, limbic, nervous, circulatory, and digestive systems. From the sense of smell to the release of hunger hormones to salivation to metabolism to breathing to relaxation, we actually need quite a bit of cooperation from our entire body to turn that chicken into absorbable nutrients and then discard. So, how does our mood or mental state affect digestion, and vice versa?

Well, stress slows down digestion, and can even hault it all together. Inflammation, allergies, and ulcers can also be triggered by or exacerbated by stress. Keep in mind stress is in reference to heightened activation of the nervous system in response to a perceived threat, or necessity to react out of survival. Many stimuli can activate a stress response. Stress from prolonged anxiety or depression directly impacts our nervous system, and is associated with inflammation - thereby, contributing to digestive upset, like hiccups, acid reflux, heart burn, diarrhea, constipation and disorders, like Irrital Bowel Syndrome, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Celiac, and ulcers (Korn, 2018).

According to Leslie Korn, PhD, a world-leading expert in integrative mental health, there are some key requirements for proper digestion to occur: the quality of the food we eat, how we prepare it (fried, baked, seasoning, etc.), hydrochloric acid in the stomach, bile produced by the liver, release of digestive enzymes in pancreas, absorption of nutrients in the small intestine, and finally peristalsis and elimination in the large intestine. The best digestion takes place when we are relaxed. Have you heard the saying, “Rest and digest?” This very relationship between the many integrated systems in our body is what the saying is referencing.

Is mindfulness important for digestion?

Practicing mindfulness is a great way to achieve the relaxation needed for optimal digestion. Remember, mindfulness is not a synonym for relaxation. This practice allows us to be more aware and attuned to what is actually happening in the moment we’re in. However, this awareness and attunement better equips us to let go of what we do not need for eating and digesting, and focus our energy and resources on what we do need. The intended outcome of that practice, in terms of eating and digesting, is a more relaxed body.

In addition to meditation, mindful eating is another effective mindfulness practice to aid in digestion. This practice involves being curious with all of our senses about the food we are eating - first outside of our mouth, then inside. We pay attention to the look, feel, texture, smell, even sound of the food before placing it in our mouth. We then allow the food to rest in our mouth to activate smell and taste, as well as sound and feel. Only then do we engage in chewing and swallowing. You may have guessed by now that this practice does two things: increase awareness of what we’re eating and slows us down. Slowing down is a key attribute of mindfulness, and a necessary one for digestion.

Leslie Korn offers some approachable and effective steps to aid in digestion. I’ve also included some recommendations of my own.

1. Eat in places you are more likely to feel relaxed than stressed or overwhelmed. For instance, eating while working on a tight deadline may be necessary every now and then. Doing that on a regular basis will likely increase stress, and create more problems for you.

2. Consider rituals around eating, e.g. eating with others whose company you enjoy, offering gratitude for your meal (a Deity, the animals on your plate, the people who prepared your meal, etc.).

3. Deepening and slowing your breath before eating.

4. Sitting to eat. Consider your posture - hunching, lying down, standing or eating while moving can impact digestion. Your body’s systems are busy doing other things beside digesting.

5. Turn off the TV and other screens. We tend to consume more mindlessly when we’re distracted, rather than paying special attention to what and how much we are eating. Give yourself the opportunity to enjoy your food.

6. Put down your eating utensils between bites - give yourself time to chew and swallow your food before taking the next bite.

7. Chew food until almost liquid before swallowing (approximately 50 times). I know, that seems like a lot. Try it, and see how it goes.

8. Limit smoking of any kind, alcohol, and caffeine while eating. These three substances are known to negatively affect digestion and stress responses.

Now you know more about how our mood, stress, and general mental/emotional health can influence digestions. Is this relationship reciprocal? Yes, it is. Within the “gut” or intestinal tract is the enteric nervous system - also called “the second brain.” Believe it or not, this second brain is responsible for a significant portion of neurotransmitter production. Our brain and gut are in direct communication with each other. In addition to moving food through our body, absorbing nutrients from food, and discarding waste, the gut transforms food into neurotransimitters (chemical messengers in our nervous system), associated with emotion and cognition. Additionally, bacteria in the gut affect neurotransmitters in supportive and inhibitive ways.

We know that protein, carbs, calories, sugars, and fats affect our health. This has been made clear to us through the lens of physiological health. They also support brain function. For instance, too little or too much of any one of the above may cause an imbalance in nutrient absorption and utilization. This imbalance can have a negative affect on mood and cognitive functioning. One way to exercise agency in this integrative system functioning is to follow the eight recommendations from above, as well as introducing well-sourced prebiotics and probiotics that will survive the journey through your stomach and intestines in order to be absorbed.