Persistent Nausea, Your Stomach Is Sending an SOS: How to Understand Vomiting Symptoms

Persistent nausea and vomiting can be an important signal that extends beyond a simple stomach problem, indicating that the harmony of the complex nervous system and hormones in our body has been disrupted. Modern medicine explains the overall mechanism of digestive symptoms through the concept of the gut-brain axis, where the gut and brain communicate closely with each other. At the center of this axis, connected like a telephone line, is the vagus nerve, which transmits digestive information and stress signals from the stomach to the brain, while the brain in turn issues commands that regulate gastrointestinal motility. When we experience stress or feel anxiety, stress hormones such as cortisol are secreted from the brain. These hormones are transmitted to the stomach via the vagus nerve, where they can increase gastric acid secretion or abnormally accelerate or suppress gastrointestinal motility. When gastric motility slows down, food stays in the stomach for a long time and tends to putrefy easily, which can induce reflux or send unpleasant signals to the brain to trigger nausea. Conversely, excessively heightened gastric motility can also provoke nausea alongside convulsive pain. In addition, an imbalance in the gut microbial ecosystem, namely the gut microbiome, exerts a significant influence. When harmful bacteria multiply, they discharge inflammatory substances or toxins that damage the intestinal barrier, which in turn stimulates the vagus nerve to transmit discomfort to the brain and can cause nausea. In particular, more than 90% of the neurotransmitter known as serotonin is produced in the gut, and nausea and vomiting symptoms can appear when these serotonin levels are abnormally regulated as well. Hormones like ghrelin and cholecystokinin secreted from enteroendocrine cells also influence gastrointestinal motility, brain satiety, and the vomiting center, which can provoke dyspepsia and nausea. Therefore, if nausea and vomiting symptoms persist, wisdom is needed to look comprehensively at overall bodily balance and the health of the gut-brain axis rather than relying solely on a simple digestant. Listening closely to the signals of your body is the most important step.