How Your Nervous System Affects Your Digestion

How Your Nervous System Affects Your Digestion

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When digestion feels unpredictable, the temptation is to focus exclusively on food. Perhaps you consider what you ate, what you shouldn’t have eaten, and what might need to be eliminated.

Sometimes those details matter, but there’s another layer that often explains why the exact same meal feels fine one day and not the next.

Much of digestion is guided by the vagus nerve, one of the main pathways of communication between the brain and the gut. It helps coordinate stomach acid production, enzyme release, gut motility, bile flow, and the body’s shift into a rest-and-digest state after eating.

When that signaling is disrupted, digestion can feel slower, noisier, and more reactive regardless of what’s on the plate. Here’s a deeper look at how the vagus nerve affects digestion and what can support its function.

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The Missing Pieces In Gut Health

The Missing Pieces In Gut Health

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Many people assume gut health is determined primarily by what’s on their plate. If digestion feels off, the first instinct is often to search for a list of foods to eliminate or a new diet to try.

But for many people, the real frustration isn’t just what they can or can’t eat. It’s not understanding why their body is reacting the way it is.

Digestive symptoms are rarely random. Bloating, discomfort, irregular digestion, and even heartburn are often the body’s way of communicating that something deeper needs attention. Sometimes the gut isn’t asking for a different meal as much as it’s asking for a different rhythm.

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The Gut – Histamine Link Explained Simply

The Gut – Histamine Link Explained Simply

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You may have experienced it after eating certain foods, such as leftovers, aged cheese, wine, or even a bowl of spinach. You suddenly feel itchy, have a throbbing head, a runny nose, or digestive discomfort. Have you found yourself wondering, “Am I allergic? Is my body overreacting?”

The answer could be related to histamine and how your gut processes it. This is an issue during stressful times when digestion or microbial balance is disrupted. The connection between the gut and histamine is often overlooked, but it can help explain the chaotic sensations you might be feeling.

Here are several ways this connection manifests, along with insights into what those sensations may be indicating.

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What Exactly Is Gut Health – A Beginner’s Guide

What Exactly Is Gut Health – A Beginner’s Guide

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“Gut health” is a term we hear everywhere these days— in supplement advertisements, on yogurt labels, and in the side panels of wellness books and podcasts. But what does it truly mean?

It’s not just about clinical definitions or eating more fiber and taking a probiotic. Instead, it should be understood in a more relatable way — a perspective that helps you connect with your body, not just your habits.

Here’s what gut health often comes down to, when you strip away the marketing language and focus on what’s actually happening inside you.

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6 Ways To Support Your Gut And Ease Anxiety

6 Ways To Support Your Gut And Ease Anxiety

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Anxiety can feel like it’s all in your head—thoughts racing, your chest tightening, a sense of unease you can’t quite shake. But what if I told you it might also be in your gut?

Your gut and your brain are in constant conversation, connected by the gut-brain axis. This two-way communication system means that what’s happening in your gut affects your mood, and your mental state can influence how your gut functions. It’s not just about digestion; it’s about how your entire body feels and functions.

Understanding this connection can be a game changer, especially if anxiety has been part of your story. The key lies in supporting your gut in ways that have an upstream influence in your mind. I will share 6 ways to support your gut and ease anxiety.

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Heal Your Body By Training Your Vagus Nerve

Heal Your Body By Training Your Vagus Nerve

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These days it is nearly impossible to avoid stress. Some wear their stress as though it were a badge of honor, while others push through hoping for light at the end of the tunnel.

The majority of the people I talk with do not recognize the damage that prolonged stress causes in their bodies. More than simply moderating your stress, it’s important to know you can heal your body by training your vagus nerve.

Vagus nerve – what’s that? The vagus nerve forms a bi-directional “super highway” between your brain and the majority of your internal organs. Vagus means “wandering” in Latin.

It’s an appropriate name for the longest nerve in the body that meanders around from your head through your chest and abdomen. Surprisingly, about 80% of the information transmitted by the vagus nerve is from the body to the brain.

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A Week Of Mindful Eating

A Week Of Mindful Eating

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Most of us pay little attention to our meals, especially breakfast and lunch. I have to be intentional – mindful – when I eat to ensure I am actually chewing. You, too? Consider exploring a week of mindful eating.

Mindful eating is a powerful practice that encourages us to be fully present while eating and drinking. This intentional approach can lead to improved digestion, reduced overeating, and heightened enjoyment during meals.

Embracing mindful eating offers a multitude of benefits that extend beyond just the act of nourishing your body. It enhances digestion by encouraging you to eat slowly and chew thoroughly. This allows your body to process food more efficiently and absorb nutrients effectively.

It adds a layer of enjoyment to your meals, as savoring each bite allows you to fully appreciate your food’s flavors, textures, and aromas. Mindfulness transforms mundane meals into delightful experiences.

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Protect Yourself When Taking Antibiotics

Protect Yourself When Taking Antibiotics

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We have a bit of a love/hate relationship with bacteria. Many of us have grown up hearing adults warn us about germs – or bacteria. What we, and likely they, didn’t realize is that not all bacteria is bad for us.

In fact, there is a bustling community of bacteria, yeast, and viruses in our guts, and this community plays an important part in our health.

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Your Gut Is Essential For Your Health

Your Gut Is Essential For Your Health

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The holidays can be a time when we indulge in more than we normally would. More food, most likely more alcohol, more activities, and less sleep. All of these can contribute to feeling behind the curve as we enter the new year. Do you know what’s at the root of this feeling? It’s your gut. Your gut is essential for your health.

There are many things that influence your gut health. These are primarily related to what you put in your mouth – whether solid or liquid – as Dana learned recently when she reached out for my help.

Dana, a young wife and mother to a 4-year-old daughter, realized she was spiraling downward and knew she needed help. She reported that she wasn’t doing well even before the holidays, but since Thanksgiving had been feeling like it was all getting worse.

Her gut was not happy – indigestion was a common experience – so she often avoided food. She also wasn’t sleeping well, which made her groggy throughout the day. All the added Christmas festivities were making things worse, so she picked up her phone to send an SOS to me.

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Bloating – A Call For Action

Bloating – A Call For Action

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Are you one of the 20-30% of our population dealing with gas and bloating on a regular basis? It is an uncomfortable signal that your body – specifically your digestive tract – needs your help. Though it may seem to be your norm, bloating is a call for action on your body’s behalf.

Many experience this as abdominal distention after eating throughout the day. Some of my clients have called it their “food baby.” If this is you, do you find you need to loosen your belt or choose to wear an elastic waistband for greater comfort?

Or are you reluctant to eat very much because you get bloating and discomfort afterward? Yet lack of nutrition causes malnourishment and can lead to loss of muscle mass.

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