E

ating is one of the most fundamental experiences
we share, but it’s not without risk. Every time we
eat we put several foreign substances into our body
that may or may not hurt us, including bacteria and
substances that may cause an allergic reaction. The
stomach kills harmful bacteria – one of the reasons it produces
acid that could scald our skin if applied – relaxes after we eat so
we feel pleasantly full and stop eating, and moves the food into
the upper intestine without us having to think about it at all.
The gastrointestinal nerves and muscles are silently controlled
by a very complex system located in the wall of the stomach
and bowel. Sometimes called the “second brain”, it connects
to the big brain in the head via large nerve ibres.
We don’t usually feel the movement of food through our
intestine, although sometimes we do hear noises or pass gas.
Nor is digestion typically felt or sensed; often the only clue our
system is working normally is that we feel comfortable but then
gradually start to look forward to our next meal.
Enzymes and bacteria quietly break down the food, and we
absorb the nutrients and vitamins until just the waste prod-
ucts remain. These move through the bowel and are expelled.
From time to time, however, this system becomes dysfunc-
tional. For some people, eating turns from a pleasure into a
pain – or worse.

Everyone occasionally suffers with indigestion, but people

of any age can develop a stomach disease that makes them feel

really full and uncomfortable or bloated after eating. These

people can’t eat normally anymore, and this can happen after

every meal. Sometimes pain also then develops in the pit of the

stomach (just below the breast bone), and nausea may be felt

too. A burning sensation can also be experienced in the belly,

sometimes travelling up into the chest.

These common abdominal symptoms signal the presence

of indigestion, or what doctors often call dyspepsia. Up to 10%

of Australians suffer with symptoms after they eat, and quality

of life can be severely impaired, which is why you see so many

over-the-counter remedies in the pharmacy. But the cause of

more than 70% of cases of severe indigestion has until recently

remained a mystery. Doctors rather confusingly call this myste-

rious disorder “functional” dyspepsia (“functional” meaning

that the stomach and upper intestine are thought to be no

longer functioning normally.) Other conditions like a stomach

ulcer can cause similar symptoms, but ulcers are much less

common than functional dyspepsia.

We can all develop “stomach butterlies” or “nervous indi-

gestion” when under acute stress or become very anxious, and

people with chronic stomach troubles diagnosed as functional

dyspepsia often feel very anxious or depressed too, and they

APRIL 2016|| 27

GGut

Feeling

NICHOLAS TALLEY

Does indigestion lead to anxiety and other mood
disorders, and could a cure be in sight for both?