We all know what a surprise scare feels like. But today I am talking about the fear of things happening. Fears such as losing a loved one, being diagnosed with a terminal illness, losing your job or income…or more recently, fear of a virus. We all have fears. Whatever it is that truly frightens you though, know that when you are in this state several undesired things happen. Your body goes into fight, flight or even freeze state. While you are in this “mode” which can last hours, day, months or even years, you do not digest food. So what happens? It sits there and ferments. This causes the GOOD bacteria in your gut to work too hard and eventually deplete. When the good bacteria is gone, nutrients are not properly absorbed from the food you eat.
Even if we are eating “good” foods, we are likely to gain weight as we are not absorbing nutrients. And to top it all off we start to suffer from inflammation, fatigue and chronic digestive problems. When we let fear take over, we shift into survival mode and we stop our body’s ability to lose fat, utilize nutrients and maintain a proper gut biome.
How do we cope with fear? Depending on your personal belief system, have faith. Find something to believe in and trust it. It takes time but it works.
If you would like help with issues like these and more, consider working with me on my Holistic Nutrition program for gut health.