How Stress Sabotages Your Health and What You Can Do About It
Introduction to stress and your health
I remember about 11 years ago as a bright-eyed newly qualified GP when I went for an interview for the position of GP partner.
I had prepared thoroughly and couldn't wait to impress the panel.
"So, how do you cope under stress?", the practice manager had asked.
I looked a little blank and there was a pause, then I started with the definition of stress which I vaguely remembered.
The practice manager pressed on, "I know, I know, but what do you do when you are stressed? I see GPs here running up and down like headless chickens. Do you do anything at all?
In all honesty, I didn't know the answer to this question. Why? Because I had never been stressed! Strange but true.
Needless to say, I didn't get the job, and when I called for feedback, it was precisely that question that let me down!
What is stress?
The term stress was coined by Hungarian-Canadian endocrinologist Hans Selye as far back as 1936. He defined it as the non-specific response of the body to any demand for change.
Since then, lots of work in the area of stress has been done, and a lot more is still unknown.
However, the basic premise remains that the body's physiology changes irrespective of the type of stress it is subjected to.
In other words, your body doesn't differentiate between the types of stress it encounters, be it from nutrition, physical or emotional trauma.
How Does Stress Affect Your Body?
As part of life, we all suffer from acute or single episodes of stress.
In fact, we need a certain degree of stress to function.
However, stress does the most damage when it becomes chronic. In other words, continuous over prolonged periods.
Chronic stress is a little like a Ninja that sneaks up on you in the middle of the night.
Chronic stress affects every body system to a degree, and the symptoms we present with are in part dependent on our body constitution and physiology.
The easiest way to understand the impact of stress on the body is to break it down into various body systems and functions.
Stress and Hormones
Stress increases the hormone cortisol, which is made from cholesterol. Cholesterol is also the raw ingredient for all hormones in your body, and, as such, when we are stressed, much of the cortisol is diverted disproportionately to produce cortisol.
The result is your other hormones, especially the sex hormones like oestrogen and testosterone, suffer.
This phenomenon is known as the cortisol steal and explains a lot of hormonal problems like changes in menstrual periods in women and erectile dysfunction in men.
Stress and Blood Sugar
Chronic stress causes a rise in the hormones cortisol and adrenaline which leads to a rise in blood sugar.
Over time, this can potentially lead to weight gain especially around the middle section, insulin resistance, and even diabetes.
Stress and Gut Function
In a highly stressed state, your body reverts into a state of sympathetic dominance. What does this mean?
Your gut is supplied by the enteric nervous system and the vagus nerve, part of the parasympathetic nervous system. (The rest and digest system).
In states of stress, the effects of the parasympathetic system are reduced, favouring the effects of the sympathetic nervous system.
As a result, blood is diverted away from the gut to the muscle organs ready for the fight-or-flight response.
As a result, digestive function is compromised.
Stress and Gut Motility
The gut normally has a certain tone or movement, known as motility.
Stress causes a reduction in gut motility, sometimes leading to constipation or diarrhoea depending.
Stress and The Stomach
Although seemingly counterintuitive, chronic stress causes a reduction in stomach acid production.
This can further lead to a cascade of issues from poor vitamin and mineral absorption to small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO).
These changes further exacerbate the effects of stress.
Stress and Digestive Enzymes
Adequate digestive enzyme production is critical for good digestion.
Chronic stress can potentially cause a reduction in digestive enzyme production.
A high-quality digestive enzyme sometimes helps.
Stress and Gallbladder
Although often forgotten, the gallbladder performs a very important role in digestion, especially fats.
Chronic stress potentially reduces gallbladder motility and function, thus affecting digestion and the quality of the microbiome.
Stress, Leaky Gut, and Leaky Brain
Chronic stress can potentially lead to gut inflammation.
As a result, this can result in increased intestinal permeability, also known as leaky gut.
So what is leaky gut?
The hollow organs of the digestive system are formed by a single row of cells that act as a barrier. The spaces between each of these cells are known as tight junctions.
Stress among other factors can cause the space between these tight junctions to widen, leading to increased gut permeability, commonly known as leaky gut.
When this happens, pathogens, toxins, and incompletely digested food material pass directly from the gut into the blood.
When toxins pass straight into the blood from the gut, they might then cause systemic inflammation as well as brain inflammation, also known as leaky brain.
This is one of the reasons you might suffer from brain fog, resulting from poor gut function.
Other common symptoms from leaky gut include joint pain, unexplained rashes, fatigue, and more.
Find out more about stress and your health
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How Can I manage My Stress?
So we know all about stress and how it affects our bodies.
However, the big question remains, how do we manage it?
Managing stress effectively involves a combination of strategies:
These include avoiding stress in the first place and making our bodies more resilient to it.
How Do I Avoid Stress?
Avoiding stress involves a few simple strategies that include the following lifestyle changes:
The first and most important change is diet.
Remember Hans Selye's definition of stress includes diet as a cause.
Concerning diet, avoid processed foods that tend to be laden with sugar and refined vegetable oils.
These foods have the potential to cause gut and systemic inflammation, sugar, and hormonal imbalances with catastrophic effects.
Increase consumption of leafy green vegetables which are low in calories and dense in nutrients.
Abundant consumption of berries is great, which tend to be low glycaemic index and packed with health-benefiting phytonutrients.
Other lifestyle changes include regular breaks, regular exercise, being prepared, setting enough time for whatever goals we have, prioritising workload, meditation, yoga, Tai-Chi, and adequate sleep.
Of course, these points are made simplistically, and each deserves a blog in its own right.
How Do I make My Body More Resilient To Stress?
Making our bodies more resilient to stress is of paramount importance especially in the modern industrialised society we all live in.
The most effective starting point is identifying the stressor which is different for each of us.
Common causes of stress I see as a GP and functional medicine doctor include stress at the workplace and relationship stress.
A hidden cause of stress is chronic gut infections by parasites, something often overlooked by conventional medicine.
This is simply because standard stool tests do not detect these parasites, leading to false reassurance in most cases.
That said, general principles of making the body more resilient to stress are similar to those described under stress prevention and also start with diet.
This means, avoidance of processed foods that tend to be laden with sugar and refined vegetable oils.
These foods have the potential to cause gut and systemic inflammation, sugar, and hormonal imbalances with catastrophic effects.
Increase consumption of leafy green vegetables which are low in calories and dense in nutrients.
Abundant consumption of berries is great, which tend to be low glycaemic index and packed with health-benefiting phytonutrients.
Other lifestyle changes include regular breaks, regular exercise, being prepared, setting enough time for whatever goals we have, prioritising workload, meditation, yoga, Tai-Chi, and adequate sleep.
What Are The Best Supplements For Stress?
B Vitamins
There are a total of eight B vitamins in the body, namely B1 (thiamine) B2 (riboflavin) B3 (niacin) B5 (pantothenic acid) B6 (pyridoxine) B7 (biotin) B9 (folic acid), and B12 (cyanocobalamin)
Generally speaking, B vitamins are required for the production of energy as well as for nerve health and brain function.
In times of stress, the B vitamins are depleted.
It, therefore, makes sense to supplement with a good quality B complex vitamin.
Supplements vary tremendously in quality, so make sure you research the company you are getting your B complex from.
Also, look out for the proportions of B vitamins in the supplement.
I recommend Life Extension, BioActive Complete B-Complex or Vitamin B Complex Liquid Drops by Metabolics.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is a great immune booster as well as an antioxidant.
I recommend one with added bioflavonoids.
There are many different forms of vitamin C supplements.
Magnesium
Magnesium is an important mineral that has become hugely popular due to magnesium deficiency in the general population.
Magnesium is necessary for over 300 enzyme reactions in the body.
It also forms important constituents of bone, and important for muscle contraction and nerve transmission.
Magnesium is also called the relaxation mineral and is great for sleep.
I recommend Jigsaw Health Magnesium or Pure Encapsulations - Magnesium (Glycinate).
Stomach acid
Although seemingly counterintuitive, chronic stress can cause a reduction in stomach acid production.
This can further lead to a cascade of issues from poor vitamin and mineral absorption to small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO)
I recommend taking a betaine HCL supplement with added pepsin, the enzyme for protein digestion.
However, if you have a history of gastric ulcers, stay clear of this as you might aggravate your symptoms. This is very important!
A high-quality stomach acid supplement is Betaine HCI plus Pepsin by Enzymedica.
I recommend Betaine HCL by Enzymedica.
Probiotics
Studies have shown chronic stress can lead to changes in your gut microbiome.
It, therefore, makes sense to supplement with a probiotic.
There are probably thousands of probiotics on the market, but choosing a high-quality one makes all the difference.
While the number of billions of bacteria is important, a good quality probiotic should ideally fulfil the following criteria:
Contain a diversity of bacterial strains
Be stable at room temperature
Be resistant to stomach acid and bile.
I recommend Dr Ohhira's, Probiotics 12 Plus Original Formula.
Digestive enzymes
Chronic stress has the potential to reduce the production of digestive enzymes.
There are many different types of digestive enzyme supplements on the market.
Some are exclusively plant-based, while others are combined with herbs or probiotics.
Generally speaking, all digestive enzymes will have various enzymes to help digest carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.
I recommend Digest Gold by Enzymemedica who are arguably the best in digestive enzyme production.
Adaptogenic Herbs
The term adaptogen was first coined in 1947 by Russian medical doctor and scientist Nikolai Lazarev.
He defined it as an agent that gives the body the strength to adapt to stresses of various forms in non-specific ways.
Another way of putting this is adaptogens help rebalance the body in times of stress.
Commonly known adaptogens include Rhodiola Rosea, Ashwagandha, Siberian ginseng (Eleutherococcus), Gynostemma (Jiaogulan), and many others.
I would recommend working with someone knowledgeable in herbs, as choosing the right adaptogen can be challenging.
Conclusion
While stress is part of modern living, as we have seen, it isn't all doom and gloom.
Identifying the cause, alongside proper nutrition, lifestyle changes, and supplementing can make a huge difference.
Remember the question I mentioned in the introduction during the partnership interview?
"So, how do you cope under stress"?
I would now answer this question eloquently if it were posed to me.
Please share this article with anyone you know who might benefit, and if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
And if you are a stressed-out professional hoping to supercharge your health and boost your productivity, you might find my Optimal Health Course useful.
Thank you!
Disclaimer-The content in this blog and supplements mentioned are not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Please consult with your doctor or any other qualified healthcare provider regarding any medical condition you may have and follow their advice.
About the Author
Dr. Leke is an NHS GP and Functional Medicine Doctor with deep expertise in gut health. His approach emphasises the relationship between the gut and overall wellness.
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