With all of the holiday magic and fun comes absolutely no stress, right?

Ha, just kidding! Combine the additional stress with all the yummy, sugary treats and it can make for a less than ideal situation for your gut to thrive. Sugar and stress have both been proven to have negative effects on overall gut health. You may be noticing some increased abdominal bloating, cramping/pain, increased gas, or change in bowel habits. Or maybe you are feeling a little more disoriented with an increase in brain fog, headaches, or ‘puffiness’ in your fingers – all of these can be signs of gut dysbiosis, or gut imbalance.

Our gut is full of bacteria – sounds kinda gross, right? Actually, having gut bacteria is a good thing as these bacteria play a crucial role in healthy digestion and immunity. A diet that is high in processed food and added sugars can eliminate the beneficial gut bacteria, causing an imbalance in the gut. This then leads to our body increasing sugar cravings for sugar, further eliminating good bacteria. What a vicious cycle!

Studies have shown that stressful life events are associated with increased onset of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and peptic ulcer disease.