Let’s explore how the gut-brain axis works, why chronic stress sabotages your digestive and mental resilience, and the practical steps you can take to restore balance to both systems at once.
Why This Talk Matters
In this talk, Dr. Kenny Mittelstadt, DACM, DC, IFMCP (functional medicine practitioner and “Root Cause Health Detective”) and Topher Scott, LPC-A (Supervised by Lesly Smith, LPC-S), a trauma-informed counselor and mindfulness coach, team up to show how stress, gut health, and mental health are deeply interconnected.
If you’ve ever been told “your labs are normal” but still feel anxious, foggy, and bloated…
or you’ve tried probiotics, meditation, or restrictive diets, but still feel stuck in a cycle of exhaustion and digestive flares…
And your care has felt more like managing random symptoms than understanding why they started in the first place…
This conversation is for you.
Quick Summary of Our Gut-Brain Axis Webinar
Too often, patients are told their anxiety, fatigue, or bloating are separate problems—or worse, that they’re “just stressed.”
But the gut and brain are in constant conversation via the vagus nerve and inflammatory signaling. When stress goes unchecked, this two-way street becomes clogged, leading to:
- Digestive shutdown (bloating, reflux, constipation).
- Mood changes (anxiety, irritability, depression).
- Energy crashes and brain fog.
The big takeaways from this talk:
- Your vagal tone matters. A strong vagus nerve response is key to bouncing back after stress.
- Chronic stress is a root cause. It literally erodes gut integrity and triggers brain inflammation.
- You can retrain the gut-brain axis. Simple daily practices, labs that look upstream, and a functional medicine perspective can reset the system.
This is about moving beyond random symptom management and stepping into a truly personalized, root-cause approach.
Mic Drop Moments & Timestamps from the Webinar
🕒 7:00 — “You’re not ‘crazy‘ if you feel off, even if your labs are ‘normal.’“
Conventional ranges often miss dysfunction until it’s severe. Feeling “off” is an early signal of stress impacting your systems.
🕒 9:00 — “The vagus nerve is your gut-brain superhighway.”
This cranial nerve directs digestion, enzyme release, and gut-brain communication. Chronic stress weakens its signaling, causing everything from bloating to reflux.
🕒 13:00 — “Your vagal tone is your stress resilience.”
High vagal tone lets you return to balance after stress. Low vagal tone keeps you stuck in fight-or-flight, shutting down digestion and spiking anxiety.
🕒 15:00 — “Stress is the root of almost every chronic condition.”
Emotional, dietary, and inflammatory stress add up—weakening the gut barrier, triggering food sensitivities, and even priming autoimmunity.
🕒 19:00 — “We’re not completing the stress cycle anymore.”
Unlike our ancestors, we sit with stress for hours. Without physical release, cortisol stays elevated, harming gut and brain health.
🕒 22:00 — “Leaky gut = leaky brain.”
Chronic cortisol literally leaches amino acids (like glutamine) from your gut lining and weakens the blood-brain barrier, allowing inflammatory chemicals to trigger brain fog and mood changes.
🕒 27:00 — “Functional labs catch dysfunction early, not just disease late.”
The DUTCH test, secretory IgA, and organic acids testing reveal how stress impacts your gut-brain axis long before conventional labs flag problems.
🕒 47:00 — “You can train your vagus nerve.”
Practical steps to improve vagal tone include:
- 4-7-8 or holotropic breathwork.
- Humming, singing, or even gargling after brushing your teeth.
- Gentle yoga twists to massage digestive organs.
- Early stress awareness—catching activation before it spirals.
🕒 54:00 — “Blood sugar swings keep you up at 2 a.m.”
Cortisol spikes when blood sugar dips overnight. Balanced meals with protein, fat, and slow carbs reduce this hidden stressor.
🕒 1:00:00 — “Your gut and brain heal together.”
When you calm your stress response and restore gut integrity, mood, digestion, and energy shift together—not separately.
Next Steps
If you’re tired of being told everything is “fine” while you still feel stuck, let’s talk. This call is a strategic session to explore your gut-brain patterns, potential root causes, and whether functional testing could guide a personalized plan.
For a Free Health Clarity Call around functional medicine services with Dr. Kenny, click here
For a Free Clarity Call around whole-person counseling services with Topher, click here
Stay Connected
This talk is part of a larger series of holistic health discussions in our growing Rooted Wellness Community. It’s hosted by Dr. Kenny Mittelstadt, DACM, DC, IFMCP & Topher Scott, LPC-Associate (Supervised by Lesley Smith, LPC-S).
To learn, connect, and keep these conversations going.
Related Reads You’ll Love
- Understanding HPA Axis Dysfunction & Looking Beyond “Adrenal Fatigue”
- 12 Hidden Sources of Stress That May Be Impacting Your Health
About the Author
Kenny Mittelstadt is an acupuncturist and functional health practitioner based in San Antonio, Texas. He is trained through the Institute for Functional Medicine and received both of his doctorate degrees with highest honors from Southern California University of Health Sciences. He focuses on empowering patients through creating opportunities for integrated understanding and personalized root-cause healing - starting with gut health and growing beyond!