Stress can come in many different forms, especially around the holidays. It’s the most wonderful time of the year, but it can also be very overwhelming. Gift shopping, traveling, event planning, organizing, cleaning, and decorating are all on your to-do list on top of the pressure of meeting year-end deadlines. In the fast pace of life, the holiday season can feel heavy with expectations and New Year’s resolutions. 

If you feel like you’ve been in fight or flight mode, this is a gentle reminder to slow down. Americans report that they are more stressed and sleeping less, with young women experiencing increased levels of frequent stress.

I invite you to take this season to clear your mind, reconnect with your energy, and create a morning ritual. Stress doesn’t just live in your mind—it’s one of the main causes of leaky gut, which shows up in various ways throughout your body. 

Dr. Daryl Gioffre and I have both suffered from previous gut health issues that were largely triggered by stress. Our shared experiences and passion for gut health ignited our co-creation of the Inner Alchemy Gut Health Masterclass, helping people start to heal years of discomfort in weeks. Dr. Gioffre is a gut health & inflammation specialist who was pivotal in my own gut health transformation—he has over 2 decades of experience in treating over 150,000 patients, helping people naturally heal their guts without the use of potentially addictive and dangerous drugs. We recently had the opportunity on KTLA to talk about the importance of stress management and how specific foods can help heal your gut and manage stress.

Watch Shayna Taylor & Dr. Daryl Gioffre On KTLA 

The Impact Of A Stressed Gut-Brain Connection 

True health begins in the gut. But the reality is that relentless stress—in addition to processed foods, pesticides, and toxins in our modern world—are sabotaging our guts, with long-term effects on our digestion, energy, immunity, and overall well-being.

Do you often get sick or experience digestive issues during periods of stress? Stress taxes your gut, which controls 80% of your immune system. Stress triggers a state of heightened adrenaline, prompting the release of cortisol. Fight or flight mode is activated and your body prioritizes immediate protection, diverting blood flow away from digestion and suppressing immune function. As Dr. Gioffre says, living with a high level of stress is like marinating in cortisol. Chronically elevated cortisol can lead to a number of gastrointestinal issues, including irritable bowel syndrome.

 Dr. Gioffre and I like to say your gut is actually your first brain. 80-90% of the signals of the gut-brain axis are “bottom-up”, originating from your gut and traveling through your vagus nerve to your brain. Your gut plays a remarkable role in regulating your mood, concentration, and mental clarity, producing 95% of your serotonin, a happiness hormone and neurotransmitter. When stress disrupts your gut microbiome balance and leads to gut dysbiosis and inflammation, it not only contributes to digestive issues but also increases the risk of mental conditions such as depression.

For 10 years, I suffered with bloating, acne, fatigue, abdominal pain, dermatitis, and other symptoms, unable to find answers from conventional doctors. I didn’t know that I had a leaky gut, and I didn’t consider myself to be a high stress person. But when I started to reconnect with my body and be in the present moment, I realized I had been suffering from chronic anxiety and stress all along. Like many of us, stress was fueling chronic inflammation and impacting my quality of life. When I took my healing into my own hands, stress management became one of the keys to healing emotionally and restoring my gut lining integrity and gut microbiome balance. One of my most effective stress management practices is my morning ritual of making matcha, journaling, meditating, and grounding myself in nature. In addition to this, as a holistic chef I truly believe that food is medicine. 

Calming, Anti-Inflammatory Whole Foods 

The bi-directional gut-brain connection creates a fascinating link between stress, food, and gut health. 

Food influences your mood, and what you feed your gut bacteria can actually drive your food cravings. With that in mind, a staggering 60% of calories in the average American diet come from ultra-processed foods, filled with artificial additives, refined sugars, seed oils, and other ingredients that can inflame your gut. Processed foods, along with high levels of stress, can leave you stuck in an inflammatory cycle of energy slumps, sugar cravings, unbalanced hormones, and even difficulty in losing weight.

Our Gut Balancing Plate And Diet in the Inner Alchemy Gut Health Masterclass isn’t about losing weight. It’s about healing your gut with real, whole, nutrient-dense foods that will naturally boost your mood, sustain your energy levels, support hormonal balance, and unlock the way your body was designed to thrive. We focus on balance—not deprivation—fostering a positive personal relationship with food and your body, so that you can enjoy food and eat intuitively with confidence and pure enjoyment. 

It isn’t always possible to remove all sources of stress from our lives, but what we eat has the power to help us manage our stress and start each day from a place of calm and strength. Certain foods can improve gut microbiome stability and reduce gut inflammation, which is linked to higher stress resilience. Switching to whole foods isn’t about being perfect—you can start by making small, intentional changes like tea instead of sugary drinks, and homemade meals and desserts instead of prepackaged snacks. On KTLA, we shared 4 stress-relieving, gut-healing recipes that combined Dr. Gioffre’s nutritional wisdom and my approach as a holistic chef, making gut-healthy versions of delightful holiday dishes.

Dr. Gioffre’s Acid Kicking Detox Tea has triple-A benefits: anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and alkalizing. Gut-soothing ginger has long been known to calm stomach ailments such as motion sickness, morning sickness, colic, nausea, and vomiting. Turmeric is a powerful anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic herb. Adding a pinch of black pepper increases the anti-inflammatory components of turmeric by 2000%. Lemon juice, which contains calming magnesium, adds a punch of vitamin C and helps to alkalize the gut, increasing iron absorption and boosting the immune system.

My Baked Sweet Potato Fries With Chimichurri Sauce is a great holiday dish with sweet potatoes that are high in fibre and magnesium. Magnesium is the #1 neuroprotector of the brain, helpful for managing anxiety, depression, ADD, and stress.

My healthy green salad features a dressing made with Shayna’s Kitchen Certified Organic Elevated Morning Ritual Matcha. Rooted in ancient Japanese tradition, ceremonial grade matcha is a superfood that provides steady, calm energy and focus from its rich L-theanine content. Matcha is gentle on the stomach and contains polyphenols that have prebiotic properties, helping feed beneficial gut bacteria, enhancing digestion and supporting balance of your gut microbiome.

I also made Pumpkin Brownies with ashwagandha, an adaptogenic herb that helps your body manage its response to stress. This gluten-free & refined-sugar-free recipe will satisfy your holiday sweet tooth without upsetting your gut.

Start Your Transformation Today: https://inneralchemymasterclass.com/ 

Questions about gut health? Ask me @shaynateresetaylor on Instagram, TikTok, & YouTube