# Stress Is Damaging Your Gut Health — Dr Will Bulsiewicz (The Gut Health MD)

Source: YouTube video by Dr B, The Gut Health MD
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VCG76sRbdI

## Key Points

1. Stress doesn't just live in your head — it shows up in your gut. During stress you get bloating, cramps, diarrhea, constipation, nausea, indigestion, and reflux. These are real manifestations of the brain-gut axis.

2. The mechanism: Stress triggers a cascade — tight junctions in the gut lining loosen (leaky gut), mast cells activate, inflammation rises, and pain sensitivity increases. All before you change anything on your plate.

3. Stress can trigger or worsen: IBS, IBD flares, reflux, and food sensitivities. Symptoms are not random.

4. The vagus nerve is the main highway between brain and gut. It carries signals both ways — gut affects mood, stress affects gut.

5. Trauma matters: Physical, emotional, psychological trauma damages the gut long-term. Dr B calls the gut "your brain's best friend — you can't separate the two."

6. How to repair:
   - Stress management is foundational, not optional
   - Fibre diversity — 30+ plants per week feeds beneficial bacteria
   - Fermented foods — kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi rebuild microbiome diversity
   - Sleep — circadian rhythm directly affects gut function
   - Exercise — movement reduces gut inflammation
   - Reduce ultra-processed food, antibiotics, NSAIDs where possible

7. His new book Plant Powered Plus (2026) covers activating gut power to tame inflammation and reclaim health.

## About Dr B
- Dr Will Bulsiewicz — triple board-certified gastroenterologist
- Author of Fiber Fueled (2020), The Fiber Fueled Cookbook (2022), Plant Powered Plus (2026)
- Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine
- Big on fibre, plant diversity, and the microbiome

## Use For Comments
When commenting on gut health posts, stress-gut posts, or Dr B's content — use this knowledge to make relevant, on-topic comments. NEVER post generic health advice that doesn't match the original post.
