How Your Emotions Control Your Gut (and why a diet change won’t solve everything)

You cleaned up your act and eat freshly cooked, highly quality food. You’ve tried all kinds of diets and even tried eating for your Ayurvedic metabolic type. You cut stress down in your life. But you’re still having awful digestive issues. What gives?

One of the most overlooked areas of modern life is dealing with our emotions and thoughts. According to the ancient teachings of Ayurveda, your emotions control your gut and overall health.

Scientific research supports the Ayurvedic understanding of the belly-brain emotional connection. Clinical psychologists at the University of California in Los Angeles have published studies that support the connection between physiology and emotions, proving that stress and emotions cause digestive issues.

Research shows that inflammation—a typical immune response to obesity, high-sugar diets, high quantities of trans fats, and unhealthy diets—may be the precursor to mood disorders such as depression. When people improve their diet, they reduce inflammation, and improve their mood. There's also evidence that shows anti-inflammatory basics of Ayurvedic herbal medicine such as turmeric (curcumin) and omega-3 rich oils such as sesame oil, may help treat emotional issues, such as depression, PMS, and anxiety.

A Diet Change Won’t Solve Everything

Most of my private clients expect me to tell them what to eat or not eat. They come with long food sensitivity lists. Extensive and expensive lab work. They’ve seen a naturopath. Taken cod liver oil. Turmeric. Omega 3’s. Tried Keto, Paleo. Reiki etc. But they are still suffering and looking for answers.  

In Ayurveda, we offer each metabolic type a specific kind of diet and we also look at your psycho-spiritual health. When my clients apply the 7 Laws of Perfect Digestion they see sustainable, long-term results. No supplements, pharmaceuticals or harsh diet changes. The big difference between Ayurvedic medicine and modern medicine is we explore your emotional and spiritual health and have a unique view of what a healthy digestion requires.

Heal Your Digestion with Ayurveda

I. Improve Quality of Food & Space Meals

• Enjoying organic ingredients when possible

• Including several servings of vegetables and fruit per day

• Cooking your own food at home as much as possible

• Using high-quality cold-pressed oils. Not using seed oils when cooking (only raw on salads)

• Including fermented foods like sauerkraut several times a week

• Enjoying processed sugar and flour products minimally

• Eat up to the first burp. Eat only when hungry. Space Meals.

II. Energy of the Eating Experience:

If you are on the phone while eating, for example, you are signaling the nervous system to be in sympathetic action-mode. You won’t be able to properly absorb, digest and assimilate food molecules unless you relax into parasympathetic rest and digest mode.

• Are you eating on the go?

• Are you in “get it done mode” when you are eating?

• Are you sitting down to your meal?

• Is there loud music on when you are eating?

• Are you checking your phone?

How to Improve your eating experience:

• Take five breaths before eating and sit down to eat

• Look at your food before chowing

• Put your fork down after every few bites

• Slow your chews and chew more

• Eat in a peaceful, quiet environment when possible

Put these steps into action and you you will see rapid improvement.

III. Emotional Inputs:

According to Dr. Mohan, everything in the nonphysical realm comes into the tissues of the body through two portals: the digestive system and the womb for women. If you are feeling anger at the time of eating a meal you will be digesting anger as well as food.

• How are you digesting life’s experiences?

• What’s going on in your mind and life that may be causing conflict in your ability to digest?

• What feelings are you feeling when you are eating?

Emotional Health Guide to How Your Emotions Control Your Gut

According to Dr. Mohan, disconnection to our inner voice aka “inner voice disconnect” is the leading cause of disease. Lack of connection to what brings us joy, what lights us up, what relaxes us, what makes us smile. Lack of connection to our spirit, leads to inconsistent choices, which leads to internal conflict, which leads to imbalance in the emotional body, which leads to imbalance in the physical body. Every symptom has a psycho-spiritual root. 

I. If you like the feelings you are feeling, keep making the same decisions!

II. If you don’t like the feelings you are feeling, start making different decisions.

• Build awareness. Look at all of the ways you are choosing experiences, people, and situations that play into the current patterns in your life. 

• Deconstruct beliefs and thoughts that underlie why you choose the way you do. 

• See the new awareness you’ve built and apply the awareness by making new choices. Now this is spiritual growth and you’ve rewired your emotions to control your gut in a positive manner.

* The content and theory presented in this article is credited to Cornell-trained Dr. Siva Mohan’s mind-body theory on the emotional root of digestive problems.