There’s something your body has been trying to tell you, and it hasn’t been whispering — it’s been yelling. Right from the center of your belly. The message is simple: “Please slow down.”
If you’ve been feeling bloated, heavy, gassy, constipated, or like there’s a stone sitting under your ribs, you’re not alone. I talk to people all week long who say the same thing: “I’m eating healthy, so why does my gut feel awful?”
Well… here’s the thing nobody tells you. Your digestion can’t work when you’re living life like you’re late for a train. Your body thinks you’re running from danger. It doesn’t matter if you’re actually just running from notification to notification. The effect is the same. That’s how stress affects digestion — it quietly pushes your gut to the back of the line.
You might be eating good food, but if you swallow it in ten bites, while scrolling your phone and answering texts, your body never gets the chance to receive it. I don’t say that to make you feel guilty — I say it because your body is doing the best it can under the pace you’re asking it to live in.
And if the pace has been too fast for too long, your gut is waving a white flag.
If you’ve been with me for a while, you might remember posts like The Second Brain You’ve Been Ignoring and Gut Instinct: The Truth They Don’t Want You to Know About Your Second Brain. We’ve already talked about how wise your gut really is. Today, I want to bring that same message right into your everyday life and show, in simple terms, how stress affects digestion and what you can gently do about it.
The pace, not your gut, is the problem
I’ve lived this too. There were seasons where I drank coffee for breakfast, grabbed something on the run for lunch, and by dinner I was exhausted and wired at the same time. When I finally sat down, my stomach would puff out like a balloon. I blamed the food. But it wasn’t the food.
It was how I was eating. And how I was living.
When you’re hurrying, your nervous system says, “We don’t have time to digest. We’re busy surviving.” And so digestion gets shoved to the back burner. Not because your body is broken, but because it’s trying to protect you. That’s another quiet way how stress affects digestion — your body literally moves energy away from your gut so it can keep you on high alert.
Over time, that can look like bloating after almost every meal, constipation one week and loose stools the next, feeling full after just a few bites, or walking around with that constant heavy, “off” feeling in your middle. Nothing dramatic enough to send you to the ER, but enough to wear you down.
What this looks like in real life
Let’s make it simple and real.
You grab coffee and fly out the door. No breakfast. No pause. You’re already behind.
By 10am you’re starving, so you inhale a muffin between tasks. Your gut clenches, but there’s no time to notice.
Lunch happens while you’re answering emails or scrolling through bad news. Ten minutes, maybe twelve. Barely chewing. Barely breathing. By mid-afternoon your belly is tight and gassy, and you think, “I guess my stomach is just sensitive.”
Dinner is late. You’re tired. You eat standing up or in front of the TV because that’s all you’ve got left. Then you lie down, full, exhausted, and your gut is left alone to sort through the chaos while your nervous system is still buzzing from the day.
Sound familiar?
There is nothing “wrong with you.” You’re just living at a pace your biology cannot keep up with. This is exactly how stress affects digestion, meal after meal: by never letting your body drop into that calm, parasympathetic “rest and digest” state it was designed to live in.
Small shifts that help your gut exhale
Here’s the hopeful part: you don’t need a fancy program. You don’t need 47 supplements. You need rhythm. Presence. A conscious pause.
Before you eat, sit. Feet on the floor. One hand on your belly. Take a few slow breaths. It can take less than a minute, but it tells your body: “You’re safe. It’s okay to receive this food.” That tiny pause is one of the most powerful ways to interrupt how stress affects digestion in the moment.
Then chew. Really chew. Taste. Feel. Let your body catch up. When you stretch a meal from eight minutes to fifteen, or fifteen to twenty, you will be amazed at what changes. Your belly softens. You notice your fullness sooner. You don’t need to unbutton your pants afterward.
Protect at least one meal a day as a “no multitasking” zone — no news, no email, no social media. Just you, your food, and maybe a loved one or a quiet moment. Over time, that one protected meal becomes an anchor for your nervous system, a place your gut can count on to finally exhale.
And if you want proof that this isn’t just “in your head,” even conventional sources are starting to admit it: chronic stress and rushed eating patterns have been linked to indigestion, bloating, reflux, and changes in bowel habits, while slowing down and practicing mindful eating can improve digestion and reduce symptoms for many people.
Make America Healthy Again, one slow meal at a time
Make America Healthy Again isn’t about grand, complicated gestures. It’s about ordinary, sacred ones.
Sitting down to eat. Breathing before you swallow. Choosing to be present. Refusing the pace of a world that never rests.
Every slow meal is a quiet rebellion against the Sickness Economy that profits when you are sick, rushed, and overwhelmed. Your gut isn’t weak. It’s wise. It’s been telling you the same thing for years:
“Slow down. I’m doing the best I can.”
Listen to it. Honor it. Give it room. You might be surprised how much your digestion, your mood, and your sleep begin to shift when you do.
If this message lands for you, share it with someone who swallows their lunch over a keyboard or lives on drive-thru dinners. That gentle nudge might be the first step in them remembering that their gut is not the enemy. It’s the ally that’s been asking for a different pace all along.
Next week on MAHA Monday, we’re talking about the hidden cost of “pushing through.” Burnout doesn’t always look dramatic — sometimes it looks like numbness, fatigue, or going through the motions while calling it productivity. There’s a gentler way to live, and we’ll explore how to reclaim your energy without sacrificing what matters.
With love and truth,
—Donna 💚
Sources & Studies Mentioned
For readers who like to see the science, here are a few places to explore how stress affects digestion and how mindful, slower eating can help:
Temple Health – How Stress Can Affect Your Digestive Health
Health.com – The #1 Tip to Prevent Bloating After Eating
AP News – Why Eating a Meal in 20 Minutes or Less Can Hurt Your Health
LiveScience – What Is Mindful Eating and Is It Good for You?
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