DIET AND  STRESS

Stress is a fact of life especially these days with the added stresses of modern living. Like aches and pains and old age stress is inevitable, but that doesn't mean you have to accept it and put up with the consequences of stress. Diet and nutrition together with small lifestyle changes can help us cope with stress and block the ill effects of stress.

Some of us are more affected by stress than others who appear to thrive on stress. However stress affects us all whether we realise it or not.

Stress is the cause of illness and disease and affects nutrition, interfering with the uptake and metabolism of vitamins and minerals. Stress is associated with many illnesses, heart disease, headaches, digestive problems, ulcers, headaches, tiredness, insomnia, depression, high blood pressure, cancer and more. Stress has a lot to answer for!

Stress takes many forms both physical - working too hard or exercising too hard. Then there is mental stress - too much worry about work, family or money. Another form of mental stress is emotional stress - relationships and feelings. Finally another form of physical stress can be found everyday in our day to day lives with toxins and pollution, whether from smoke, fumes, pesticides, cleaners, or food processing chemicals and additives.

Stress is caused whenever our body is lacking in the vitamins and minerals it needs to function. This is made worse with the everyday stresses of work, family, money, pollution, etc. because when we are stressed the body needs more nutrients as stress uses up our nutrients more rapidly.

How much this affects us depends on how we deal with stress. Another wonder of the human body is that it can adapt to stress, supplying energy and oxygen to muscles when needed and increasing mental and physical energy to deal with stressful situations.

The problem is, these reactions were meant to deal with the stress of a sudden dangerous situation and then when the danger was passed the body recovered and returned to normal. It was not meant to deal with the 24 hour stresses of today which start with the traffic jam to work, stress at work, stress at home, etc. etc.

Our first reaction to all this stress is often a cigarette, or coffee, or alcohol, or chocolate. They may initially make you feel better but in fact only add to the stress on your body's systems. Stimulants such as coffee, tea, chocolate, etc have the same effect as stress itself. The caffeine releasing adrenalin to deal with the 'stress' even though in the case of caffeine the stress is artificial.

The normal reaction to a stressful situation is stimulation of the adrenal glands to release various hormones to help deal with the stress. These hormones include adrenalin, cortisol and DHEA. The release of adrenalin increases activity and energy. We all know the term common today of 'adrenalin rush'. This physical reaction to stress increases heart rate, constricts blood vessels and stimulates the brain to prepare the body to deal with the 'danger' that is causing the stress. Understandably you should not be in this state for long periods.

The adrenalin and other hormones improve oxygen and energy (glucose) supply to muscles and generate increased mental and physical energy. The blood thickens (in case you are wounded!). The body slows down other functions like digestion and repair and maintenance to concentrate on the stress situation.

The slowing of metabolism can lead to weight gain and calcium imbalance, which in turn can lead to arthritis. Just some of the health problems caused by stress and again highlighting why being in a permanently stressed state is not good for you.

Adrenalin also raises blood sugar levels so that the body releases more glucose and cholesterol into the body to increase our energy for the 'fight'. Again we don't want raised blood sugar levels or higher cholesterol levels permanently.

All this release of hormones and energy is not good. The body is designed to have this ability to help us out of or avoid a dangerous situation. Once the situation is past and the body calmed down normal functions can take place.

Today the same reactions happen if we allow ourselves to get stressed, perhaps with work or money problems etc. But unless we can manage the stress or solve the problem quickly the stress doesn't go away and our body continues in a stressed state and is unable to resume normal functions.

Stress doesn't just occur because of the danger from one off situation such as a fall, car crash, illness, etc. Stress can, without knowing it, be a continuous threat as in the case of the workplace, where you are under pressure all the time to perform. Stress can also take the form of mental or emotional stress with money worries, family problems and relationships. Then there is the chemical stress on our body from toxins, drugs, alcohol, pollution etc. Finally nutritional stress occurs due to lack of nutrients because of poor diet.

All these situations are stressful and while some people can cope physically and mentally, many more are affected and the stressful situations send a 'danger' or 'threat' signal. Our body reacts accordingly when we can't handle the stress or when the body is suffering from stress and the problems of illness due to stress occur.

Research links stress to more and more illness and if not the cause stress makes illness worse. As stress is unavoidable in today's world we need to learn to live with stress and avoid it where we can. While a little stress can be useful to motivate us in certain circumstances, too many stresses are bad.

Unfortunately the body (overworked due to stress, caffeine, sugar, etc) is not designed to operate under continuous stress forever. Lots of stress plus lots of coffee etc divert nutrients to fight the stress and the nutrients the body needs overall are reduced. This speeds up the ageing process and disease.

Stress can also affect our eating habits. Some people eat or drink more when stressed but usually the wrong things - sugars, chocolate, sweet foods, coffee, alcohol, etc. Others eat less or nothing and again this is damaging as when stressed you need more nutrients. Diet therefore plays an important part in dealing with stress.

Digestion is one of the things affected by stress. Stress affects hydrochloric acid production which increases in highly stressed people leading to too much acid in the stomach and ulcers. Not eating therefore makes matters worse as does eating the wrong things.

Nutrients that help the body deal with stress include B Vitamins, Vitamin C, Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Copper and Zinc. Because stress uses up nutrients faster we need to have a nutrient rich diet, especially if stress is making you eat less food - or the wrong foods

As already mentioned the B Vitamins and Vitamin C are particularly important together with anti oxidents. Calcium, magnesium and potassium are the essential anti stress minerals. The herb ginseng is also beneficial. Either siberian or panax ginseng but not both at the same time. Ginseng boosts the adrenal glands. It helps the body fight challenges and be more resilient.

The B vitamins and Vitamin C are richest in fresh fruit and vegetables. Calcium and magnesium are found in green leafy vegetables, root vegetables and nuts and seeds. Fresh fruit and vegetables also provide potassium and dairy produce provides lots of calcium as does a tin of sardines!

Diet is therefore important. While a little coffee in moderation can increase alertness and help in a stressful situation, too much caffeine has the same effect as long term stress. Likewise alcohol. Alcohol is a major cause of stress and too much alcohol and stress make matters worse.

Sugary foods and cakes are often eaten when stressed but have no nutrient value and while boosting energy in the short term this only leads to exhaustion of the adrenal glands.

Carbohydrate meals are useful as they trigger release of serotonin which soothes you. Rice , pasta, potatoes and whole meal bread are the main source. Since stress interfers with digestion also increase your fibre intake - fruit, vegetables, whole grains etc provide fibre. Eating vegetables also increases athe brains serotonin production.

Even if you are always in a hurry 3, 4 or even 5 small healthy snacks can be as good as a normal 2 or 3 meals daily routine. As long as the snack are high in nutrients and mainly fruit and vegetables, nuts, seeds, salads, etc.

Besides diet you also need to try and relieve the causes of stress where possible. Try and give yourself a break at work. If you have lunch hour, don't sit at your desk to eat your sandwich. Go somewhere away from your desk - rest room, park or where ever you can. Also use part of your lunch for exercise. Take a brisk walk before eating your lunch, even if it is only 10 or 15 minutes.

This is because exercise is also part of relieving stress. Though don't continuously overdo the exercise or you may make matters worse with physical stress on top of everything else. Walking, jogging and exercises are great for stress. Even better is something like yoga or tai chi which combines relaxation with exercise.

You might read this and think 'oh I don't have time'. Well make time as it is important for your wellbeing and in fact I expect there is spare time if you look for it. As I said earlier use part of your lunch hour to get out and walk. The TV programmes are usually a habit and not really watched - switch off, go for a walk or do some exercises or relaxation.

Finally the other stress relief is sleep. Make sure you can get to bed early enough and get a good nights sleep.

As said in the beginning stress is a fact of life and you have to live with it and therefore should seriously consider how to improve your reaction to stress. Nutrition plays an important part.