Gut Health

Why Stress Makes Your Farts Smell Worse

It’s not fair. Dealing with stress is hard enough without it causing frustrating problems that stress you out even more.

But unfortunately, stress can mess with your gut health. And that means when you’re super stressed you get super gassy. And stress gas can smell foul.

Luckily, there’s an easy way to tackle both at the same time. Instead of the stress-gas cycle working against you, you can make it work for you. So you can calm your body and shut down the fart factory with a simple stress-free solution.

The Stress-Digestion Connection Leads to Foul Farts

When you feel stressed, your shoulders and neck may tense up… you may get a stomachache… and nervous energy takes over. Those are the physical signs you notice, but there are many more physical changes that you probably don’t see.

Stress sets off a chain reaction of “fight-flight-freeze” responses inside your body. It creates a chemical cascade, releasing hormones like adrenaline and cortisol that make you more alert so you can survive whatever danger you’re facing. Those stress hormones force your body to shift all its energy into your arms, legs, and brain—the key parts for keeping you alive.

At the same time, it shifts resources away from processes that can wait til later when you’re safe. And digestive function is one of the main losers here.[1] When you’re stressed out, your digestion slows to a crawl. Any food you’ve eaten just hangs out in your gut for much longer than it normally would. That extra time leads to extra fermentation (breaking down food) by your gut bacteria.[2]

The longer fermentation process creates gasses… and the more food lingers in your gut waiting to be broken down, the more odor they retain. At some point, of course, all that gas in your belly will need to find a way out, creating stress-induced, embarrassingly stinky farts.

gassy woman

The “Stress-Gas-Stress” Cycle

It’s a tough cycle to break out of: stress causes more frequent, smellier farts… And farting more frequently increases feelings of stress.

A huge study[3] that included nearly 6,000 adults from the U.S., Mexico, and the U.K. found that 81% of adults deal with uncomfortable gas every day. That gas can also come along with other frustrating symptoms like bad breath, bloating, and burping.

The researchers also found that people with higher gas scores—meaning they farted more frequently—also reported:

  • Lower quality of life
  • Higher stress levels
  • Anxiety
  • Depression

This stress-gas-stress cycle can take a toll on your well-being… Unless you take immediate steps to help body manage stress better and produce less unpleasant-smelling gas.

Get “Psycho” to Feel Stress-Free

There’s been a lot of research into how probiotics can help with stress reduction, and one specific probiotic strain currently stands tall above the rest.

Bifidobacterium longum 1714™ (BL1714) works as a “psychobiotic”—a term for probiotic bacteria that deliver mental health benefits, including reducing stress loads.[4] And research proves that B. longum 1714™ helps the body manage stress and promote a sense of calm clarity:[5]

  • One study found that B. longum 1714™ decreases nervous brain activity and calms negative emotions in people dealing with social stress[6]
  • Another study showed that B. longum 1714™ helps the body manage healthy stress responses while supporting clear memory[7]
  • Additional research found that B. longum 1714™ promotes clarity and focus during periods of stress[8]

    And B. longum 1714™ can help on the “other end” as well.

    A new study published in January 2023[9] found that in IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) patients dealing with stress, B. longum 1714™ was able to help manage cortisol (the st