The Connection Between Your Gut, Stress & Glutamine
Have you heard about the gut-brain axis? Your gut (digestive system) and your brain have a 2-way communication system. Today I want to talk with you about how chronic stress can negatively impact your gut, become a vicious cycle…and most importantly, offer you some helpful tools to support you in being the healthiest version of yourself.
You see, your gut is at the root of your health! 
Your gut is where you take all the good stuff you eat and drink and transform it into the many building blocks your body needs to make energy, think clearly, sleep well, maintain a healthy weight, build muscle, fight infections, and clear out toxins that need clearing out daily so you can thrive.
Chronic Stress Depletes Glutamine
First of all, glutamine is a key amino acid (protein building block) that plays a significant role in supporting your gut health. Your body makes glutamine on its own and you also get it through protein-rich foods.
- Glutamine helps maintain the function & integrity of your gut lining (this is where you absorb your nutrients…and also where inflammation is managed.)
- Glutamine supports the gut microbiome (the complex interactions of the bacteria within you).
- Glutamine supports the gut-brain axis. Glutamine is a precursor to the neurotransmitter GABA, supporting emotional stability, reduced symptoms of anxiety, depression, and is critical for brain function.
So glutamine is awesome! But guess what? Stress, both acute or chronic, leads to an increased demand for glutamine. When glutamine levels get depleted, this can lead to disrupted gut health and function. And like I said earlier, the health of your brain as well as all other systems in your body (including your immune system, sleep, hormone production, etc.) are connected to your gut health. This is a big reason why stress leads to so many health issues–it wreaks havok on your gut!
As your gut function gets depleted, your body isn’t going to digest your food as well, you won’t absorb as many nutrients, your resilience to stress drops, you don’t sleep as well, you may struggle to exercise and engage in other self-care activities: it’s a vicious cycle!
How to Support Your Gut & Glutamine
To support glutamine levels for gut health, mental health, and all the rest, there’s a lot of options.
I recommend approaching it with these considerations in mind.
- Eat plenty of protein-rich foods. Animal proteins are a richer source of glutamine than plant proteins. These include foods such as high-quality meats, fish, poultry, eggs, and dairy such as milk, yogurt, aged cheeses (as long as you aren’t dairy intolerant). Legumes, soybeans, spinach, cabbage, almonds, walnuts, and cashews also provide glutamine.
- For individuals who may not get enough glutamine through diet alone, supplements can be helpful. For example, L-glutamine supplements are often used to support gut health and leaky gut as well as for conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). I absolutely recommend checking with your doctor or health practitioner before starting glutamine supplements as it can be contraindicated with certain conditions (i.e. liver or kidney disease, bipolar, seizure conditions, etc).
- Stay physically active. Not only is movement good for your body, it helps reduce stress, improve mood, and supports mental clarity & concentration.
- Use additional stress management tools. As many of you know, I am a huge advocate of HeartMath tools for improving resilience and regulating the nervous system (there are many tools to choose from but they are all rooted in breathwork and consciously shifting your emotional state). I think it is important to have tools we can use right there in moments of stress as well as tools like yoga, meditation, therapy, time in nature, dancing, etc. I recommend picking 1-2 tools to use daily to support your nervous system and manage feelings of stress.
I hope that this information helps you to make choices that support you to be happier and healthier.
It is my passion to work with people like you whose health symptoms are getting in the way of you living life fully and with a sense of freedom in your body. I can help you to regain your health so you can feel great and free to enjoy life fully.
If you’re ready to discover where your best health has been hiding, I’d love to connect with you!
Apply for a complimentary Unstoppable Health Discovery Session. http://bit.ly/schedulinghealth (subject to availability).
Until next time, I’m wishing you unstoppable health!
~Rebecca
