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Stress Could Explain Your Pandemic Nausea
Feeling nauseous more often than usual? Experts say stress frequently manifests in gastrointestinal symptoms. As Carla M. Delgado writes, “the human gut — a group of organs involved in the body’s digestive process — takes a hit when people get stressed. Similar to the brain, the gut has its own sophisticated network of interconnected neurons, which is why it’s often called the body’s ‘second brain.’”
The gut and the brain are linked through what’s called the vagus nerve — a two-way communication pathway between the central and enteric nervous systems — and this connection is often referred to as the “gut-brain connection.” This is what makes it possible for psychological distress to cause gastrointestinal dysfunction. Read more about it below.