Nutrition and Stress...

Stress perceived by many is deemed to be negative. In actuality, stress can be both negative (distress) and positive (eustress). To take it a step further, stress is essential to life. It is the response of the mind and body to any demand in which it must adapt to. So in essence, everything is stress for example breathing, walking, thinking, sleeping, your heartbeat and even sex. While these are not stress that one would consider bad stress, it is still stress non-the less. Finding our way to deal with stressors that are not beneficial will lead us to a happy and youthful life.

Here we are doing to talk about distress since it has a negative impact on our body. We are going to take a little look on how our nutritional intake can help us in protecting ourselves from the effects of stress on our bodies. While there are many ways to cope with stress, the best ways therefore are in combination of getting adequate rest, pure oxygen, exercise, meditation, an optimal nutrition and if needs be a complete lifestyle change.

Like mentioned earlier, people perceive stress differently. There are the more obvious stressors like, a death of a love one, a divorce, an argument or loss of income. And then there are manifestations of stress that people don’t really realize like having a cold hand, nervous movements, changes in appetite, insomnia or oversleeping, excessive smoking or drinking, low self-esteem, upset stomach, high blood pressure, easily irritable, irregular and shallow breathing just to name a few.

Often times when people are stress they snack, indulge in comfort food or don’t eat anything at all. All which can affect us in more negative ways than one. Having good nutrition alone is not going to protect anyone from stress. However, eating sensibly will help the body and also protect the stomach lining from acidic secretions lowering the chance of getting an ulcer. Every time we eat our digestive system produce acids in preparation of breaking the food down, so snacking on junk foods is actually doing more harm than good since these foods have no substance. High fat foods like comfort food often leave an individual feeling lethargic and not being able to deal with issues that really need to be addressed, this is because fatty foods can elevate serum cholesterol levels, affecting the arteries and thickens the blood increasing the risk of a heart attack.

Consuming meals that are high in fiber and carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables and some protein are necessary in protecting our bodies from the effects of stress and preparing it for stressful times. While carbohydrates are great for our bodies, there should be special attention made to the consumption of simple sugars because too much can be damaging to the bloodstream since sugar level is already high due to the body’s natural stress response. Simple sugar intake has a tendency to drop after a while which can leave a person with a low blood glucose level making them prone to anxiety. Having complex carbohydrates in your diet however allows your body to maintain certain glucose level, which cause the brain to produce a hormone called serotonin that is known to make a person relax and enhance their mood.

A high fiber diet that contains, grains, beans, oatmeal, nuts, and seeds to name a few helps to keep the digestive system healthy while at the same time giving the feeling of satiation, deterring you from snacking on empty calories. While fruits and vegetables are also great source of dietary fiber, they are loaded with vitamin A, C and B-complex that are needed for proper functioning of the adrenal gland, which we already know that the adrenal gland is responsible for the production of adrenalin that is secreted as a result of the stress response. Chronic stress often results in the deficiency of these vitamins. Vitamin D is also known to help increase serotonin. We can get vitamin D from sun exposure, meats and other protein source.

As we know, dealing with stressful situations is a part of our existence as humans and even animals as I’m sure they face stressful situations too, can either make us or break us. To deal with stress effectively we have to first look at how it is being perceived. Since we all don’t perceive things in the same manner, there are other ways to counteract stress. While nutrition isn’t the end all be all, it can definitely be a start in the right direction. Having a balanced diet in general can help to combat stress before it even hit you but, maintaining a well-balanced lifestyle on a whole is what we all should strive for.

Reference:

Brugman, M. (2011, 02). Foods to boost your mood. Natural Solutions, , 26-28. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/894767696?accountid=107221

Eating right to reduce stress. (2002, 01). USA Today, 130, 6-7. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/214598150?accountid=107221

Howard, M. (1987, Oct 19). Food for thought: Eat right to reduce stress instead of counting francs, marks and yen, nutrition-conscious bankers are adding up calories. American Banker (Pre-1997 Fulltext) Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/292807315?accountid=107221

Langer, S. (1996). There are specific nutrients for stress relief. Better Nutrition, 58(3), 52. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/194193651?accountid=107221