Gut Health, Stress, and Your Hair

Did you know that your nervous system is linked to your gut health? So much so, in fact, that the gut microbiome is actually known as “the second brain.” No wonder when you’re feeling stressed out, it can feel like your gut is out of whack as well.

The gut microbiome is the rich ecosystem of all the microorganisms that live in the digestive system. Ideally, everything is working together to contribute to a happy and healthy environment for digestion, nutrient absorption, and getting rid of waste. Unfortunately, a lot of things can cause an imbalance in the gut microbiome: lifestyle habits, hygiene, some medications, or a diet high in sugar or low in fiber.¹ When this happens, it can impact those basic functions—not to mention your body’s ability to deal with stress.²

Your gut and brain are closely linked by something called the gut-brain axis, which refers to the way they communicate with each other.³ You might be familiar with how the brain communicates with the gut (like that uncomfortable urge to hit the bathroom when you’re stressed out), but this relationship actually works both ways. Emerging research indicates that the gut microbiome may influence your ability to deal with stress.²

As you can see, stress has a big tie to your gut health—and it’s also a root cause of hair thinning. The stress hormone cortisol signals hair follicles to prematurely shift out of the hair growth phase, accelerating the time it takes for hair to shed. If stress is affecting your hair health, you may notice shedding and thinning that’s not just at your hairline or part.

When developing Nutrafol Hair Growth Nutraceuticals, we included standardized, well-studied vitamins, minerals, and natural ingredients that target key root causes like stress and support healthy hair.* Many of our formulations include ingredients like Ashwagandha, which is known to support stress relief by helping balance stress hormones in the body.^4,*

Prebiotics and probiotics are some of the best—and easiest—ways to support your gut health. Probiotics help support your gut microbiome by adding more beneficial microbes into the mix, while prebiotics act as food for those microbes, helping them increase. Here are a few foods with pre- and probiotics you can start incorporating into your meals:

If you’re looking for additional gut microbiome support, try our Gut Microbiome Hair Growth Booster.* It’s physician-formulated with 11 pre- and probiotic strains to help balance the microbiome and support nutrient absorption.^5,6,*