The stress & anxiety of elimination diets worsen symptoms
Stress and anxiety are well known gastrointestinal disruptors, which can be heightened by restrictive dietary interventions.
People who are put on these plans experience:
Food anxiety
Panic attacks in the grocery store
The loss of weekends (downtime) for scratch cooking and meal prep
Social isolation and depression
The inability to gather and connect with others around food
Malnourishment, related to a dwindling list of safe or allowed foods
Lack of energy and zest for life
Relapse or triggering of a ruthless eating disorder
These diets are continually prescribed, despite the burden and research showing the body has a hard time regulating digestion and healing under chronic stress.
For some exposure to intense stress or anxiety elicits digestive distress. When clients are asked: when did your symptoms start? I am often confronted with traumatic events, e.g. near-death car crash, sexual assault.
How does a carbohydrate-restricted diet the answer to a life-altering event? Answer: it doesn’t.
This post is a reminder to providers (who are in a position of power) to remember messaging food-is-the-enemy leads to anxiety and fear that sits in the gut. It takes time to dismantle and heal from this. Treatment bias toward food eliminations can quite literally harm a person’s health.
For people with digestive symptoms, although food removal is a common treatment plan, it is not the only option. Look for providers who are willing to see you as a whole person. Providers who take into account the emotional, psychological and physical impact of dietary interventions.
Anyone struggling with digestive symptoms, consider the level of stress implicated by dietary treatments. Know that anxiety and stress worsens digestion, and are not remedied through food eliminations. There are treatment options (in most cases) that do not restrict foods in order to improve digestive symptoms.
Read more about treatment bias and shared decision making for IBS treatment from Kate Scarlata, RD.
Research on the intersection of stress and gut health.