Typically people think that stress is about meeting deadlines, being stuck in traffic and having a high stress job.  Did you know though that stress is also placed on your body by eating the wrong foods, eating foods that you have intolerance to and not getting enough sleep?  When these hidden stressors are placed on the body over and over again they can cause hormonal imbalances as well as digestive issues that may lead to more complex illnesses such as autoimmune diseases.  Let us explain.

First of all, 80% of your immune system lies within your gut.  Therefore, if you are eating foods that your body cannot handle this places stress on the GI system (gastrointestinal system).  When prolong stress is placed on the GI system good bacteria and flora begin to diminish and over time your protective mucosal lining will also begin to break down.  When your protective mucosal lining (Sig A) breaks down your immune defense breaks down and leads to leaky gut syndrome (visit our blog for articles written about leaky gut).  Leaky gut is when the GI system breaks down and gets porous holes in the intestines. Toxins, rather than be eliminated through the stool can leak out into the blood stream (which is not normal) causing the body to react against itself thus causing an autoimmune disease.  Let us say however, that this is not always how autoimmune diseases happen but if you do suffer from one we do recommend you perform gut testing to rule out food allergies/intolerances.

Going a bit further into the gut connection when the gut is stressed over time the hormonal system will begin to kick in.  Cortisol which is an anti-inflammatory hormone will be released to try to calm down the inflammation that is taking place in the gut.  The hormonal system will continue to release cortisol until the inflammation is gone but if you continue to eat foods that continue to irritate the gut the hormonal system will continue to try to release cortisol.  But guess what?  Your hormonal system will eventually get stressed and eventually your body will run out of cortisol and now not only do you have gut inflammation you now have a stressed out hormonal system and the inflammation continues and can become systemic.  What can be seen when the gut and hormonal system gets stressed are not only autoimmune diseases but one can suffer from skin reactions/rashes, end up with hormonal imbalances leading to low libido, PMS and night sweats as well as difficulty sleeping.

What we would like for all of you to understand from this blog article is that the digestive system, the hormonal system and the detoxification system (the liver) are all linked together.  Anyone of these systems can get stressed at anytime in any particular order and lead to being diagnosed with a disease.  We have helped many people who have come into our offices with an illness.  We run digestive and hormonal testing on all of our clients and each and every time we have found each of these systems stressed.  Each client goes on an individual healing protocol that is specific to their test results.  We help them to eliminate the hidden stressors found through the test results, get them on healing foods that reduce inflammation, we support the hormonal system through supplementation and teach our clients how to listen to their bodies so that the illnesses do not come back.  Gut testing and hormonal testing give many answers and are a great tool for knowing what is going on in the body.  For example a high morning cortisol is a clue that your body is trying to fight an infection. 

If you are one who is suffering from an illness and feel as if you are not getting better we recommend running gut and hormonal testing. These tests can be done in the comforts of your own home.  If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to visit us on our contact us page of our website and remember you become what you eat!

Lori Metroka-Nutrition & Wellness Specialist