Leaky Gut and Stress
Leaky gut and stress have a connection not well understood by traditional medicine.
While intestinal permeability is very well researched in prestigious, peer-reviewed journals, most doctors simply aren’t taught about it. As a result, many sufferers of GI breakdown, are sadly dismissed, ridiculed, and not taken seriously.
What makes matters worse is the role that stress plays in contributing to leaky gut. Research also understands that the immune system lines the GI tract, and is considered your body’s first line of defense.
So when your body is under stress, your stress response system increases immune activation. Taking place along the entire length of your mucous membranes. Which is from your mouth to your anus.
However, with continued, ongoing stress, the immune system becomes compromised. Which, ultimately, leads to an increased in intestinal permeability.
So, where do the adrenals fit in? The adrenal gland coordinates the communication between the brain and the mobilization of the stress response in the body. Signaling the sympathetic nervous system, and dampening the parasympathetic nervous system.
As a result, the body diverts blood flow, away from parasympathetic tissues, and towards the sympathetic tissues. Repeated over and over, that stress response will lead to decreased immunity in the GI tract.
With decreased immunity in the GI tract, your body becomes even further susceptible to inflammation and infections.
Another consequence is decreased blood flow to the GI tract. Effectively creating a vicious cycle of leaky gut and stress.
We will discuss how to fix leaky gut, but fixing your bodies ability to respond to stress.