Tummy troubles

Yep stress and the gut have close correlations in behaviour and experience.

Lots of "western" science and what some people might call "wooo-woo" yogic or similar practice and teachings explore this.

Making the "jump" to appreciating the stress/gut function correlation might be a way to approach it - e.g it might not be what one is consuming but how one is from a wider biological basis pre-prepared to react to consumption.

That said from a practical basis of the gut "flora and fauna" that we all have (stuff that lives inside/along with us that does a lot of the "pre-digestion for us) - making changes gradually with diet consumed perhaps will give time for that to naturally adjust - eg time for the specific flora and fauna that is needed to digest to help digest the different food consumed to multiply in numbers present to aid digestion of an increase in volume of the particular foodstuff?

I’m a firm believer in woo woo

Thank you Phased 

I've just cleared my desk of an issue that has had it congested for a while Lonehare12 and if it's Ok I would like to share with you a bit of a "deeper dive" into the topic that I've just made.

There was  big "meta analysis" paper on this published in 2023 in Nature Neuroscience.  With a bit of help I've broken the contents down into hopefully "easily digestible" parts that follow:

In plain English the science is that there is massive two-way communication between our gut and our brain.  Autistic people often have distinct profiles when it comes to gut microbes (like Biffidobacterium and Prevottela) and the way our bodies process proteins and carbohydrates.

If this system gets out of balance, t doesn't just cause stomach aches it can actually trigger low grade inflammation and have an impact on our nervous system.  So gut issues can directly drive or worsen experiences like chronic fatigue or "brain fog", anxiety and sudden sensory overload.  I t can also mess with sleep and mle it difficult to know if one is hungry full or in pain ("interoception" problems).

Practically we can't change our biology overnight but a few self-directed, relatively low demand strategies that might be worth considering.

Prebiotics and probiotics - the evidence base is moderate to high and autism specific.  These are constantly shown to improve specific digestive issues - like reducing stress markers (like cortisol) and improving gut barrier function - there are studies as well that highlight they help passage of of specific materials across the blood-brain barrier to help reduce neural inflammation.  BUT it's nuanced - the direct effects on individual people are wildly different - - this highlights why it's important to to introduce them slowly and monitor personal tolerance.

The "physical hack" of regulating one's breathing maybe isn't as "woo woo" as might be imagined at first thought - there is general consensus that breathing exercises and nervous system regulation work and ther eis emerging "scientific evidence" that this specifically works with autistic people.  This is the sort of "body work" that yogic breathing, small circulation breathing, physically splashing cold water on the face or maybe kicking of shoes and socks and walking in grass (Mind where you step!).  Or just as "simple" (I'm aware that for many this is not "simple") going out for a walk. 

In that last one of going out for a walk this maybe also leads into the practicality of trapped "wind" and physically giving the guts a chance to get moving inside one - this could be even walking about one's room or doing a few gentle seated stretches.  this sin't just mechanical like getting the guts frre to move and sloppin stuff about a bit - it also works on that gut-brrain axis again...

There is also a tricky kind of "double bind" that perhaps autistic people encounter w/r/to monotropic food preferences and introducing variety - the "stress" of doing so can increase the gut brain axis "problems" - so as a parent who has experience of "stealth" food introduction by mashing some greens or pulses into otherwise staples like a tomato based pasta source and gradually increasing (albeit carefully and being ready to titrate down as well!).  And indeed on a personal experience basis stop... my mum insisted that tinned meat puddings she gave me to eat where all steak and no kidney a few times - this actually increased my dislike of the flavour of kidney - I might be daft but I'm not stupid!

So, just to be clear these strategies are "evidence based".

An important thing o consider tho' is that the effects of taking prebiotics is TRANSIENT,  If you stop taking them your gut will slide back to doing what it normally did.. So it's an ongoing maintenance thing - its better and kinder to add a little every day (maybe even an un-noticable amount) rather than going for massive "gut cleanses" that cause distress and have no lasting effect.

Best Wishes!

Phased

I've just cleared my desk of an issue that has had it congested for a while Lonehare12 and if it's Ok I would like to share with you a bit of a "deeper dive" into the topic that I've just made.

There was  big "meta analysis" paper on this published in 2023 in Nature Neuroscience.  With a bit of help I've broken the contents down into hopefully "easily digestible" parts that follow:

In plain English the science is that there is massive two-way communication between our gut and our brain.  Autistic people often have distinct profiles when it comes to gut microbes (like Biffidobacterium and Prevottela) and the way our bodies process proteins and carbohydrates.

If this system gets out of balance, t doesn't just cause stomach aches it can actually trigger low grade inflammation and have an impact on our nervous system.  So gut issues can directly drive or worsen experiences like chronic fatigue or "brain fog", anxiety and sudden sensory overload.  I t can also mess with sleep and mle it difficult to know if one is hungry full or in pain ("interoception" problems).

Practically we can't change our biology overnight but a few self-directed, relatively low demand strategies that might be worth considering.

Prebiotics and probiotics - the evidence base is moderate to high and autism specific.  These are constantly shown to improve specific digestive issues - like reducing stress markers (like cortisol) and improving gut barrier function - there are studies as well that highlight they help passage of of specific materials across the blood-brain barrier to help reduce neural inflammation.  BUT it's nuanced - the direct effects on individual people are wildly different - - this highlights why it's important to to introduce them slowly and monitor personal tolerance.

The "physical hack" of regulating one's breathing maybe isn't as "woo woo" as might be imagined at first thought - there is general consensus that breathing exercises and nervous system regulation work and ther eis emerging "scientific evidence" that this specifically works with autistic people.  This is the sort of "body work" that yogic breathing, small circulation breathing, physically splashing cold water on the face or maybe kicking of shoes and socks and walking in grass (Mind where you step!).  Or just as "simple" (I'm aware that for many this is not "simple") going out for a walk. 

In that last one of going out for a walk this maybe also leads into the practicality of trapped "wind" and physically giving the guts a chance to get moving inside one - this could be even walking about one's room or doing a few gentle seated stretches.  this sin't just mechanical like getting the guts frre to move and sloppin stuff about a bit - it also works on that gut-brrain axis again...

There is also a tricky kind of "double bind" that perhaps autistic people encounter w/r/to monotropic food preferences and introducing variety - the "stress" of doing so can increase the gut brain axis "problems" - so as a parent who has experience of "stealth" food introduction by mashing some greens or pulses into otherwise staples like a tomato based pasta source and gradually increasing (albeit carefully and being ready to titrate down as well!).  And indeed on a personal experience basis stop... my mum insisted that tinned meat puddings she gave me to eat where all steak and no kidney a few times - this actually increased my dislike of the flavour of kidney - I might be daft but I'm not stupid!

So, just to be clear these strategies are "evidence based".

An important thing o consider tho' is that the effects of taking prebiotics is TRANSIENT,  If you stop taking them your gut will slide back to doing what it normally did.. So it's an ongoing maintenance thing - its better and kinder to add a little every day (maybe even an un-noticable amount) rather than going for massive "gut cleanses" that cause distress and have no lasting effect.

Best Wishes!

Phased

Thank you Phased  for this detailed information, it has been most helpful

Thank you for the detailed response.  Please take care not to verge into giving medical advice as per rule 6 please.

Thanks

Suzanne Mod