RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRESS AND FOOD.
Did you know that your belly controls your brain? Yes, that’s right. Our belly controls much of our physical and mental functions and you’ll be surprised to know that eating is a coping mechanism for a lot of people during stress and depression.
The term “stress” refers to processes involving perception, appraisal, and response to noxious events or stimuli. Stress experiences can be quite challenging, whether emotionally (like interpersonal conflict, loss of loved ones, unemployment) or physiologically (like food deprivation, illness, drug withdrawal states). In addition, regular and binge use of addictive substances may serve as pharmacological stressors. Acute stress activates adaptive responses, but prolonged stress leads to “wear-and-tear” of the regulatory systems, resulting in biological alterations that weaken stress-related adaptive processes and increase disease susceptibility. Thus, mildly challenging stimuli limited in duration can be “good stress” and may increase motivation to achieve goal-direct outcomes which can result in a sense of mastery and accomplishment, and can be perceived as positive and exciting. However, the more prolonged and more intense the stressful situation is, the lower the sense of mastery and adaptability becomes.
A complex phenomenon, stress is a common problem that millions of people have to deal with at some point in their lives. Stress has its own deleterious effects on health, but eating junk food while stressed synergistically leads to metabolic havoc. While most people are aware of external factors related to work, relationships, family, etc. that cause stress, only a handful understand how their immune, digestive, and nervous systems are involved in creating and fighting stress. Even fewer people understand the relationship between food and stress.
Stress is thought to influence human eating behavior and has been examined in animal and human studies. It appears to alter overall food intake in two ways, resulting in under or overeating. But, the relationship between food and stress is not exactly the same for everyone. While acute stress is associated with loss of appetite and reduction in body weight, chronic stress is known to cause over-consumption of palatable foods and obesity. Therefore, some people may subconsciously start ignoring their hunger cues and skip meals while others turn into emotional eaters and reach out for unhealthy foods. Psychologically, the first set of people are so consumed by stress that they fail to tune into their hunger cues. The second set of people use overeating as a distraction. On a deeper level, it’s how your brain responds to stress that ultimately alters eating behavior mentioned above.
Stress doesn’t just affect your eating habits. Numerous metabolic changes may also occur in response to stress. Besides a spike in blood sugar level and blood pressure, stress triggers the release of adrenaline and cortisol from adrenal glands. Release of these stress hormones as well as other changes are part of biological ‘fight or flight’ responses. These responses to stress makes you crave more food because your brain thinks that it needs more energy to fight whatever is causing the stress. It’s a survival mechanism. However, chronic activation of this mechanism is known to have an adverse impact on health. When you do eat sugary, salty, or fatty foods, they provide a much sought-after energy spike. So, these foods slowly become your ‘comfort foods.’ The next time you are anxious due to some reason or your body is under stress, you will feel stronger cravings for these ‘comfort foods.’ This is exactly how stress causes people to overeat.
Food and stress management
The best way to avoid stress or emotional eating is to be simply aware of what triggers it and be ready to resist the urge. Daily demands of personal and professional lives, as well as excessive use of electronic devices often put an increasingly large number of people at high risk of stress eating.
You may want to keep things like a stress ball handy to help alleviate anxiety. Or try simple breathing exercises every once in a while in the workplace; simply close your eyes and take some deep breaths.
It is scientifically proven that nutrition and stress are interlinked. Eating nutritious foods is one of the best ways to manage stress. Stress is likely to take an even greater toll on your health if you make poor dietary decisions. Part of getting ready to overcome emotional eating is to arm oneself with healthy foods. This way, even if you have an irresistible urge to snack on something, you’d at least be nourishing yourself. Opt for healthy snacks such as almonds, fat granola, peanuts, yogurt with fresh fruit, etc. that are rich in fiber and protein.
Do not skip meals. Be sure to eat regularly to maintain normal blood glucose flow in your body. The blood-glucose-level should be neither too high nor too low. While you should avoid unhealthy, fatty foods, be sure to include flax seed, walnuts, fish oil, etc., in your diet which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Deficiency in these fatty acids can result in anxiety. A high-fiber diet is known to be an effective stress-beater. So, try to include beans, nuts, oatmeal, vegetables, and fruits in your diet. These foods can make you feel more alert and also reduce stress as your gut affects the brain function. Vegetables, especially leafy greens, are rich in vitamins and minerals that help battle harmful molecules or free radicals produced in your body when you are under stress.
When you are stressed out, it’s likely that Magnesium levels in your body have depleted. Conversely, depletion in Magnesium levels can also make you more susceptible to stress buildup. Magnesium deficiency is often exhibited by symptoms such as insomnia, anxiety, and fatigue as it functions like a spark plug for adrenal glands and plays a role in the production of cortisol. Magnesium-rich foods include leafy green vegetables, seafood, raw cacao, fruits, tamarind, and cashews are advised to eat.
Fruits, vegetables, and snacks rich in nutrients such as Vitamin C, B Vitamins, and Magnesium are known to support adrenal glands. The adrenal gland is among the body organs with the highest concentration of Vitamin C in the human body. It is required for the production of hormones like cortisol to handle the stress. Papaya, kiwi, pineapple, strawberries, grapefruit, cantaloupe, guava, and mango are some of the best fruits known to help reduce stress as they contain these important Vitamins. Potassium is known to help lower blood pressure. Other fruits that you may consider for stress relief include cranberries, tangerines, blueberries, raspberries, pomegranate, and lemon. Depending upon availability, you can include some of these fruits in your daily diet. Do keep in mind that the stress-related benefits mentioned above are applicable to whole fruits (and not processed fruit products).
Chronic stress affects bacterial balance in the gut as well as the immune system. Prebiotic foods such as onion, garlic, legumes, banana (unripe), whole grains, asparagus, etc., help keep your gut healthy.
Other factors like good quality sleep, daily exercise regimen, meditation, yoga, and regular relaxation are some of the best ways to reduce stress. Don’t hit the bed late at night; remove potential distractions such as electronic gadgets from your bedroom. Try spending at least 10 minutes doing gentle (stretching or breathing) exercises in the morning. Avoid intensive cardio workouts as a way out of anxiety. Both meditation and yoga are absolutely free and can be practiced at home. Even 15-minute long sessions, either in the morning or evening can go a long way in reducing stress and anxiety.
Remember to allow your body and mind to relax and return to an equilibrium-state every once in a while. Temporary stress-causing disturbances will keep coming around. So, you need to know how to knock off stress on a daily basis and prevent potentially harmful stress build-up which among other things can result in eating disorders. You can read a book, go out on a walk, get a massage, chat up with your loved ones, play your favorite musical instrument, or listen to soothing music. You can also spend time outdoors in nature to beat the stress. You know what works best for you.
