Stressed all the time? The solution could be what's on your plate rather than with pills
Contrary to popular belief, we all need some stress in our lives – it’s what gets us up in the morning and keeps us motivated through the day. The trouble is that in today’s high-pressure environment, stress is ubiquitous and, when poorly managed, it can wreak havoc on our health and wellbeing.
It is our adrenal glands that control our response to stress. Any stressful experience whether physical (e.g. exercise), mental or emotional will trigger the immediate release of hormones – adrenaline and cortisol in particular.
This is known as the ‘fight or flight’ response. Our muscles tense, our heart beats faster, our breathing and perspiration increases and we get that knotted feeling in our stomach. Once the stress has been removed, the adrenal glands stop pumping out hormones and your body returns to normal.
While this process in itself doesn’t cause us problems, our lifestyles in the modern age of technology mean that most of us live under constant daily stress. This results in our adrenal glands continuously firing cortisol, day after day, affecting our body and putting our health at risk.
“You can’t always control what goes on outside. But you can always control what goes on inside.”
Wayne Dyer
Stress symptoms
Our digestive system is one of the first places we notice the effects of stress. We experience a rush of stress hormones and our breathing often increases, in order to distribute oxygen-rich blood through our bodies more quickly. These can both affect the passage of food through our gut, resulting in a range of symptoms including stomach cramps, diarrhoea, constipation and heartburn.
And when we are stressed, nourishing our body with nutritious, healthy meals often slides down our priority list, which can worsen these symptoms.
Have you noticed that when you feel stressed you’re tempted to grab a chocolate bar or sugary doughnut? With ongoing stress, the high cortisol levels make the body think it needs to continuously refuel and store fat ready to be used to tackle more stress. By raising blood sugar levels, cortisol influences another hormone, insulin, which then leads to fluctuations in blood sugar levels. This in turn triggers cravings for all those foods that we love, but which aren’t nutritionally all that beneficial for us.
While indulging in a sweet treat every now and again is no bad thing, over time this causes weight gain, irritability and fatigue, and can even lead to life-long conditions, such as diabetes.
Our overall health, as well, can be affected. We’ve all been there: we’re facing a busy work schedule or a week full of commitments, and we get that familiar feeling in the back of our throat that indicates the beginning of a cold. This isn’t just a case of unfortunate timing; it’s our adrenal glands suffering at the hands of stress. These hormone-producing glands require large amounts of key vitamins and minerals to function optimally, but under stress, these become rapidly depleted. This leaves us feeling run-down, and makes us more prone to infection and inflammation, which causes illness.
Stress can also have an impact on our sex hormones, for both men and women. While spending some quality time between the sheets can be a great stress-reliever, changes to levels of these hormones prevent us from getting in the mood, and can even cause disruption to menstruation cycles and impact on fertility.
The problem with cortisol
It’s not just our bodies that are affected, though – chronic stress can also have a profound effect on our mental health. Cortisol disrupts neurotransmitters (chemicals that affect how we think and feel), including serotonin and GABA (which helps keep us calm), making us more prone to low mood and depression.
Stress has a direct effect on our nervous system and revs up our heartbeat, increasing feelings of anxiety and even panic attacks. High cortisol levels at night can contribute to sleep disturbances, by blocking our sleep hormone, melatonin.
So, we’re feeling it: we’ve got the tummy troubles, we’re craving chocolate, sex couldn’t be further from our thoughts and we have a constant stream of anxious thoughts running through our brain. What can we do about stress and its adverse effects?
Identifying it is a great first step. While we can’t necessarily avoid the stress of our daily lives, we can make changes to reduce its impact and improve our resilience to it. Plan some me-time into your day, such as taking a break, enjoying some gentle exercise, going for a walk outdoors or planning a good chat with family or friends.
Instead of getting even more stressed trying to find the time to do this, look at your schedule and see where you can make easy swaps. Could you get off the bus a couple of stops early and walk the rest of the way? Instead of spending lunchtime trying to type emails one-handedly while eating your lunch, could you take 10 minutes to sit outside and enjoy your food before going back in and powering through that to-do list?
Sleep, too, is important to reduce the impact of stress – but it needs to be of good quality. You know the drill: no electronics (and that includes your mobile phone) for at least 30 minutes before bedtime, and spend that time relaxing and letting go of the thoughts from the day – not stressing about what you need to get done tomorrow.
What you eat can also make a huge difference to your resilience to stress. Scroll down to read my advice on how to calm both body and mind with your diet.
“While we can’t necessarily avoid the stress of our daily lives, we can make changes to reduce its impact”
Eat to ease your stress
Christine talks us through the ingredients we need on our plate to create some calm
Revitalise with Bs
The B vitamins, particularly B5, are crucial for the production of stress hormones and keep the body energised. If you are feeling run-down, include foods rich in B5 in your diet, such as sunflower seeds, avocado, salmon and mushrooms.
Protein power
Tackle cravings by upping your intake of protein. Including protein-rich foods at each meal will help to stabilise your blood sugar and keep you feeling energised, without needing to resort to sugar or caffeine to perk yourself up.
Vitamin C
Your adrenal glands are the biggest store of vitamin C, so if levels are low, your body will find it harder to cope under stress. Eat plenty of colourful fruits and vegetables, particularly citrus fruits, red pepper, kiwi fruit and berries.
Magic minerals
There are a number of important minerals that help the adrenals to function correctly. Magnesium, known for its ability to relax the body and nervous system, is found in leafy green vegetables, brown rice, quinoa, beans, peanuts and almonds.
Other important minerals are calcium, zinc, sodium, potassium, manganese and selenium. Good sources of these are beans, nuts and seeds, leafy greens, fish and shellfish.
Go green
Green tea is the perfect stress-busting beverage, as it’s rich in L-theanine, an amino acid that can help promote relaxation and boost concentration. L-theanine can also help reduce feelings of anxiety.
Get fishy
Oily fish (salmon, sardines, mackerel, anchovies) are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. These essential fats can help reduce the effects of stress, boost mood and reduce anxiety.
Fish also contains phosphatidylserine, which can help lower high cortisol – particularly useful if high levels are keeping you awake at night.
Ferment your food
Our gut and our brain are connected physically through the vagus nerve and chemically via our gut bacteria. Taking probiotics has been shown to reduce the symptoms of stress and anxiety. You can boost your intake naturally by eating fermented foods such as yogurt, kefir, kombucha, kimchi or sauerkraut.
Happy herbals
Herbs have traditionally been used to tackle the effects of stress. If you often struggle to unwind, try calming herbs like hops, passionflower, lemon balm and valerian, which can be taken easily as a soothing cup of tea.
Adaptogenic herbs help the body to adapt to stress and improve our resilience levels. Rhodiola, ginseng, ashwagandha and cordyceps are all adaptogenic herbs, and are readily available in health food stores as powders or supplements.
Eat right for your age
Getting the right minerals and vitamins can help you combat stress, but it's also important to make sure you're exercising and eating to suit your age. Find out how to eat well and get the right exercise at any age with Gathered.
