What is Stress?
Stress is a
word which gets used constantly in modern life – perhaps overused in some ways
– but there is no doubt that it is everywhere and is almost certainly
unavoidable. Stress is in
fact a very primal process – most of us have heard of the fight or flight
response – which is our body’s reaction to a stressful situation. It would have been triggered many moons ago
when we were chased by sabre toothed tigers – but now the queue at tesco or
work deadlines are the usual culprits. Pressure in
moderate amounts is a good thing; it keeps us motivated and helps us
perform. It becomes a problem when we
are under constant low level stress – known as chronic stress. This type of pressure tends to sit in the
background wearing us down slowly but surely.
Stress and Nutrition
Stress and
nutrition are intrinsically linked because stress
depletes us nutritionally by using up vital nutrient stores and the wrong type of food actually causes our body
physiological stress. So...the wrong
diet can actually deplete us nutritionally and leave us worse off! And surprisingly this is not only McDonalds – some ‘stressful foods’ may not even sound that unhealthy!
The Adrenal Gland Link
Our adrenal
glands sit above our kidneys and they are responsible for producing adrenaline
and cortisol – our stress hormones.
These hormones start a cascade of reactions in the body which prepare us
for the fight or flight reaction – our pupils dilate, sugar is released into
our bloodstream for physical escape, our heart rate rises and we begin to
sweat. When we are
continually stressed these small glands are put under a great deal of pressure
to perform and in the process they demand large levels of essential
nutrients. When our adrenal glands are
continually depleted they start to tire and this can cause our bodies to become
out of balance...we may wake in the early hours and find it hard to settle
again – we are sooo tired but we feel wired, then when we wake in the morning and
we feel sluggish and foggy.
This cycle
often hits when we are stressed and then normalises - but in some cases of
continual stress, we become more and more depleted until our systems force us
to stop with something harder to heal with - such as adrenal fatigue, oestrogen
dominance or a thyroid imbalance.
What can we do about this?
So, that all
sounds a bit scary, especially if we have a stressful situation in our lives
which we can’t put a stop to! But be
reassured that with the correct nutrition our bodies can survive stress and come
out the other side without any long-term negative effects! In fact with the right lifestyle approach we
can actually use stress to learn, heal and come out stronger.
Boost the with Diet with Specific
Nutrients
The three
big nutrients to look at when supporting the body through stress are vitamin C,
Magnesium and the B-vitamins.
The
adrenal glands use more Vitamin C than any other part of the body and if you
are stressed the chances of you having enough to support their actions is
slim. Over 200 functions in the body
require this vitamin so if you are stressed then supplementing is a really good
idea. It is vital for the production of
cortisol and it protects against free radicals that are produced by stress.
Magnesium is
often called natures tranquiliser as it helps your body’s muscles to relax –
again it is depleted quickly when we are stressed, so supplementing is a good
idea if you suspect you are suffering from anxiety of tension. It helps to calm the nervous sustem and
remove lactic acid from muscles.
The
B-vitamins are a group of water soluble nutrients which release together in the
body so need to be taken as a complex.
Insufficiencies are very common when the adrenal glands have been
exhausted by stress and supplementing with them can help provide the nutrients
needed for energy production and nerve function.
Beat Stress with Nutrition!
Josie.x
