We rarely leave it to TikTok to issue sage wisdom and warnings. But the latest health claims circulating on the app have experts waving a green flag. According to a recent post gone viral from creator Jillz Guerin [1], one of the quickest ways to improve your gut health or an autoimmune condition is not just to cut out certain foods from your life, but certain people.
"I thought I was allergic to gluten but it turned out I was just allergic to my ex," one commenter wrote under Guerin's post, confirming the positive outcome.
"True. I quit a toxic job and my migraines just stopped after a year," wrote another. "Less constipated after I distanced my life from certain family & friends," added someone else. And the echoes go on.
According to rheumatologist Micaela Bayard, MD, the claims aren't totally unfounded. "Long-term stress — whether it's caused by unhealthy relationships, a stressful job, ongoing financial worries, or other lasting challenges — can affect the body in ways that may increase the risk of autoimmune disease," Dr. Bayard tells Popsugar.
What's more, research shows that "chronic stress can disrupt the balance of healthy bacteria in the gut, weaken the gut's protective barrier (sometimes called a "leaky gut [2]"), and increase inflammation throughout the body," Dr. Bayard says. "These changes are thought to contribute to the development or worsening of autoimmune conditions."
Experts Featured in This Article:
Micaela Bayard [3], MD, is a rheumatologist at Mount Sinai and the associate professor of medicine at The Icahn School of Medicine.
Natalie Jones [4], PsyD, is a licensed professional clinical counselor, psychotherapist, and owner of Lifetime Counseling and Consulting.
How Does Stress Impact the Body, Exactly?
"Stress is a normal part of life, but when it becomes chronic, it affects far more than mental health," Dr. Bayard says. Long-lasting stressors — people, places, or things — can contribute to inflammation throughout the body, increasing the risk of heart disease [5], diabetes, digestive problems, autoimmune disease flares [6], and other chronic health conditions, Dr. Bayard explains. But how is it all connected?
"Stress affects the body through the gut-brain connection, a two-way communication system linking the brain, digestive tract, immune system, and gut bacteria," Dr. Bayard says. When stress becomes chronic, several changes in the body occur, she tells Popsugar:
- Your body's stress response stays switched on: When you're stressed, your brain releases stress hormones that help you respond to challenges, Dr. Bayard says. This includes the buzzy hormone, cortisol [7]. In the short term, cortisol can help your body manage stress. "But when stress lasts for weeks or months, your body becomes less responsive to cortisol's calming effects, allowing inflammation to increase instead of decrease," Dr. Bayard says.
- Your "fight-or-flight" system is activated: Staying in fight-or-flight long-term can change a lot about your body — from how quickly food moves through your intestines to the amount of blood flow to the gut, to how certain immune cells behave — all of which can contribute to digestive symptoms, per Dr. Bayard.
- The gut lining becomes more permeable: When stress persists, the protective lining of the intestines can weaken, resulting in a "leaky gut." "This allows bacteria and other substances that normally stay inside the gut to pass into the bloodstream, where they can trigger inflammation," Dr. Bayard says.
- Healthy gut bacteria become imbalanced: Long-term stress can also impact the amount of beneficial gut bacteria your body produces, while allowing less helpful bacteria to grow. "This imbalance, known as dysbiosis, can worsen inflammation and affect how the immune system functions," Dr. Bayard says.
- Stress changes the nerves within the gut: Chronic stress can also alter the cells and nerves that control the digestive tract leading to inflammation and a disruption of how food normally moves through the intestines. This can lead to abdominal pain, bloating, constipation, or diarrhea.
- Stress and gut inflammation can feed each other: "As inflammation and changes in gut bacteria increase, they send signals back to the brain that activate the stress response even further," Dr. Bayard says. And so the cycle begins — with stress worsening gut health and poor gut health leading to more stress and inflammation.
How to Identify Stressors in Your Life
It's not always easy to spot the stressors in your life. But it's important to "pay attention to your body and notice when you are experiencing physical, behavioral, and emotional changes that are out of the norm," says Natalie Jones, PsyD, a licensed professional clinical counselor and psychotherapist. Either make a mental note or physically track in a journal what is causing the changes in your body — whether it's a person, place, or thing, she says.
It's also important to document the symptoms that are being caused, such as over or undereating; increase in blood pressure; or feeling angry, anxious, or depressed. If you're still having trouble identifying the source, it can be helpful to ask yourself, "What has changed recently?" or "What part of my day causes the most stress?" says Dr. Bayard.
Common stressors include work, finances, caregiving, relationships, health concerns, major life changes, and lack of time for self-care. "Sharing these concerns with a healthcare provider can help identify patterns and develop healthy coping strategies," Dr. Bayard says. "Several brief, validated questionnaires can help healthcare providers identify chronic stress and related mental health concerns." From there, an expert will be able to suggest a treatment plan, which just might include cutting off a friend, setting boundaries with a coworker, or reinstating some ground rules with family.
The reality is, stress is a powerful reaction but it doesn't have to negatively impact your life.
Alexis Jones [9] is the section lead of the health and fitness verticals at Popsugar, overseeing coverage across the website, social media, and newsletters. In her seven-plus years of editorial experience, Alexis has developed passions for and expertise in mental health, women's health and fitness, racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare, and chronic conditions. Prior to joining PS, she was the senior editor at Health magazine. Her other bylines can be found at Women's Health, Prevention, Marie Claire, and more.