Stress does not only affect your mind, it can also take a serious toll on your gut health. While occasional stress is a part of everyday life, prolonged anxiety can trigger digestive issues such as acidity, bloating and inflammation, leaving your stomach feeling like it is "on fire".

Highlighting this often-overlooked connection, nutritionist Lovneet Batra explains how chronic stress disrupts the gut and shares why incorporating tryptophan-rich foods into your diet may help support your body's natural healing process. 

“If you suffer from burning chest pain, acid reflux, or chronic burping, changing your food is not enough,” she shares, explaining that to heal, it is important to consume tryptophan-rich foods that induce serotonin production to help calm both brain and stomach.

In her latest post, she shares 5 gut-soothing, serotonin-inducing foods that can actually help you:

Soaked Walnuts and Almonds

The nutritionist recommends starting the day with 5 soaked almonds, 2 soaked walnuts, and 1 Brazil nut. “These are high in magnesium to calm the brain and naturally buffer stomach acid,” she says, adding almonds neutralise stomach acid while walnuts lower the stress hormones that trigger reflux.

Kesar and Soaked Black Raisins

According to her, both kesar and soaked black raisins act as a gentle, natural cooling antacid for the stomach overnight. She advises soaking 4-5 kesar strands with 5 black raisins in 1 cup of warm water and drinking it before going to bed.

Ripe Bananas

Slightly ripe bananas are loaded with tryptophan and vitamin B6 that naturally manufacture the feel-good hormone serotonin in the body. The natural sugars in ripe bananas help the tryptophan get into your brain more easily.

Cooked Sweet Potato

According to her, thoroughly cooked sweet potatoes are rich in complex carbs that help your brain efficiently absorb mood-stabilising tryptophan.  The complex carbohydrates in sweet potatoes digest slowly to stabilise blood sugar and help the amino acid tryptophan reach the brain, where it changes into serotonin.

Chamomile Tea and Pumpkin Seeds

Calling it a powerful “anti-inflammatory” combination, the nutritionist shares that it directly shuts down anxiety signals and relaxes tense gut walls.



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