Can Nutrition Relieve Stress?
Can Nutrition relieve Stress and help you feel Calm and in Control?
When it comes to stress, I firmly believe nutrition can play a pivotal role and support you to feel calm, in control and ultimately reduce poor health outcomes.
I would like to help you understand what stress is and how it makes you unwell, what it does to you both physically and mentally so you can recognise it in yourself and then I will explain just how nutrition supports the stress response to help you feel calm in control and ready to take on the world.
So, what is Stress?
Stress is the bodies automatic response to a stressor or threat, and is designed to keep you alive.
It is an essential part of everyday life, which is a healthy, positive bodily response to a stimulus. These stimuli or stressors can be anything from trauma, acting in an emergency, a hard day at work, experience of pain, eating something unhealthy, overexercising or even experiencing something exhilarating like a bungee jump or rollercoaster.
Various mechanisms in the body keep you safe and protect you in times of danger. The initial reaction is what is called the acute ‘fight, flight or freeze’ response, triggered by the sympathetic nervous system (SNS).
Hans Seyles in 1936 developed the General Adaption Syndrome by experimenting on male rats. The term defined the 3 stages of physical response to stress (1). The acute stage – is the immediate reaction mediated by the centrally activated peripheral systems. Seyles coined the term fight, flight and freeze response. If the distressing stimulus persists, the hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal axis (HPA) kicks in producing glucocorticoids (GC’s) to sustain the stress, hormones like cortisol stay elevated to cope with ongoing stress. The exhaustive stage is when a stressor is overwhelming and cannot be resolved so the stress becomes chronic.
In 2003, a neuroscientist Professor Bruce McEwan referred stress in terms of allostasis and allostatic load (2) - the bodies ability to achieve stability by changing chemical mediators like cortisol, gaba, serotonin, dopamine, adrenaline, nor adrenaline as well as cytokines responsible for the immune response and metabolic hormones including thyroid hormones. He suggested that the body is interconnected and therefore the reaction to stress is not confined to the Central Nervous System but to the sympathetic, parasympathetic, endocrine and neurotransmitters and therefore it is both physiological and mental.
So basically overtime if you become chronically stressed, the response may lose its positive effect. GC receptor resistance develops, compromising the immune system and damaging multiple organs and tissues - impacting digestion, sleep, hormone cycles, fertility, leaving you susceptible to infection.
Lastly, there are significant links to stress, dis-ease and brain health. McEwans study in 2022 suggests that stress a factor in the expression differs among individuals. Chronic long term stress or pressure on the allostatic load causes changes in the body that can lead to any dis-ease. Brain regions like the hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex respond to acute and chronic stress by undergoing structural remodelling, which alters behavioural and physiological responses.
(3).
Thank fully, it has been seen that this remodelling can be reversed and modified by diet and lifestyle medicine.
Are you Stressed?
Accepting you are stressed often feels like a weakness as it suggests you are not coping. However, until you recognise stress in yourself you can not do anything about it or make significant changes to protect you from its dis-ease patterns.
Can you relate to any of these…
· Sometimes I can be quite wired or hyperactive, especially later in the day
· I get stressed, anxious, irritable, or angry easily
· I have difficulty sleeping – either falling asleep, staying asleep, or even insomnia
· I sometimes or often use alcohol or sedatives to relax or sleep
· I don’t get outdoors much, spend a lot of time indoors under artificial light/ look at TVs or screens, especially in the evening
· I am a bit of a perfectionist, addictive about things, or even obsessive compulsive
· I feel like I’m under a lot of stress and/or have experienced significant emotional trauma in my life (e.g. during childhood)
If you are strung out, ideally you need to calm your nervous system and if burnt out you need to improve adrenal adaption to stress and long term resilience. Sometimes you can be a mix of both. Genetics, your environment and your behaviours effect how you respond to stress. There should be a balance of healthy stress and relaxation, allowing your body to recover in readiness for whatever stressful event may come next.
6 Nutrition Hacks to Improve Stress Resilience
This ‘toolkit’ aims to support and modify the stress response which may enable you to adapt to stressful situations and recover more quickly so you can return back to a state of equilibrium.
1 – Avoid stimulants like caffeine and alcohol that wreak havoc with your hormones, deplete nutrients, dehydrate the body, and become addictive mentally and physically. Think about the triggers that make you reach for alcohol or caffeine. Is there another activity you could do instead to create a new behaviour? Go for a walk, talk to a friend, have a bath etc.
2- Balance blood sugars - Having high blood sugar is a stress to the body, so it will produce stress hormones in the same way it does in other stressful situations. The key is to focus on foods that won’t spike your blood glucose levels. Avoid refined carbohydrates and eat some protein at breakfast to reduce tendency to snack (eggs, fish, nuts, protein shake etc.).
3 – Increase magnesium rich foods - A natural relaxant for the nervous system. Magnesium becomes heavily depleted during times of stress. In a supplement, opt for a form that aids relaxation, and support better sleep such as magnesium taurate or glycinate. Increase green leafy vegetables – spinach, kale, chard, broccoli etc. - rich in folate and magnesium. Have at least 1 portion every day.
4 – Increase B vitamins - B vitamins get easily depleted during stress. Key in supporting multiple biochemical pathways for regulation of mood, stress and energy. In particular eat foods rich in
· B6 - avocado, banana, nuts
· B12 - organic meats and fish
· B9 or folate - dark green leafy veg, wholegrains, sunflower seeds
5– Exercise regularly - Movement is key for de-stressing and reducing anxiety. Daily movement can impact your mental state, release endorphins and relieve tension. Be aw=are that over exertion is another form of stress so be sensible – aim for an activity you enjoy for 20 minutes three times a week.
6 - Improve sleep which is crucial for your brain to function efficiently, think clearly, and make the best decisions. Aim to get between 7-9 hours per night. Increase your awareness about your sleep times, duration, and quality by creating a bed time routine and sticking to it. You could try Increasing light exposure during the day and reducing blue light exposure in the evening.
Consistently small habit changes over time- are key to renewed health and dealing with the stresses of life. If you or someone you know feels low, overwhelmed and unable to cope with the day to day stresses of life, then you may be ready for more support and I would love the opportunity to help you.
CONTACT ME HERE FOR A FREE NO OBLIGATION CHAT
https://www.bespokenutritionaltherapy.co.uk/contact
References
1 - Selye, H., 1936. A syndrome produced by diverse nocuous agents. Nature, 138(3479), pp.32-32.
2 - McEwen, B. and Lasley, E.N., 2003. Allostatic load: when protection gives way to damage. Advances in mind-body medicine.
3 - Mariotti, A., 2015. The effects of chronic stress on health: new insights into the molecular mechanisms of brain–body communication. Future science OA, 1(3).
4 - McEwen, B.S., 2022. Protective and damaging effects of stress mediators: central role of the brain. Dialogues in clinical neuroscience.