Stress affects us.

Stress what you eat and how you eat.

And food affects us.

And sometimes there’s a nasty vicious circle

We know that some people respond to stress by selecting food for its chemical effects while others choose foods to meet emotional needs. Emotional eaters don’t necessarily eat greater quantities of food; they eat more foods that are higher in fat and in starch, sugar, and salt content.

Information taken from surveys taken after 9/11 indicated that approximately 15% of Americans ate more comfort foods, while an additional 14% reported eating more sweets. Two months after the terrorist attacks, one in ten Americans had gained weight. This example of emotional eating demonstrates the power of stress in altering eating behavior.

While the brain “instructs” the body to produce and release certain chemicals to deal with stress, these chemicals also have an affect on the mood center of the brain.

For example, when cortisol courses through the body in greater than normal amounts, metabolism is affected. Energy is shifted quickly from key storage areas to the muscles, readying them for action. We are all familiar with what we experience when we have “a close call”. But we also know that the symptoms associated with that flood of adrenaline will not last long. The entire system has a feedback loop built into it so that once the emergency is dealt with, the release of cortisol drops back to its normal rate. This is accomplished by cortisol itself, acting as its own shut-off messenger. When it reaches the brain it commands it to stop the body’s production of the hormone. But under conditions of chronic stress the system does not shut off. When we are under chronic stress cortisol production continues, leading us to feel anxious, hypervigilant, and depressed.

In addition to the direct influence of brain chemistry on our emotional state, there are also physiological influences accounting for alterations in mood. These include the direct benefit we obtain from the nutritional content of food as well as the body’s access to its own energy storage sites (e.g., fat deposits). Because of its close proximity to the liver, abdominal fat can be more easily broken down as a source of energy. However, in times of chronic stress this source of energy cannot be broken down quickly enough to replace what is being utilized, so we tend to seek out a fast replacement in the form of fat- and sugar-laden foods. They replace our depleted energy reserves and, because they are usually highly palatable, they act as a “comfort food” as well. The problem is that while sweet, fatty foods low in protein may alleviate stress in some people by raising serotonin levels, the over-consumption of such foods often leads to abdominal obesity.

The problem is amplified by the fact that most of us in the Western Busy World are pretty much on low stress alert all of the time. We create and absorb so much stress that we hardly notice. ‘We” hardly notice, but our body does, and our brain does.

So we eat or are moody or are just plain stretched, and we cant figure it out.

There are some good web sites that offer tips on the best foods to help with stress and the site http://www.glycemicindex.com is an overall great site for referencing the best foods to ert to help with carb and sugar overdose

The Number 1 way to become aware of stress, is to take a break.

Take time out. Get away from your normal environment. A vacation of course. But even a couple of days away will help.If your family is producing stress, then two days away from them. If its your job, two days off.

You may not know there is stress in your life. But break away from you’re normal routine for a couple of days. And you will notice the difference

If you cannot physically get away from your everyday environment, take yourself to a room, or a garage and sit quietly and breathe. Just breathe.

If the voices in your head wont let you relax (why would they) – try this:

Sit up,back straight, body erect so your organs are not crushed and unable to move, breathe in – and on the out breath as loud as you can say “aaahhh” . Try it. So loud you cant think.

Modulate the “Ahhh ” and you will notice vibrations in your trunk, and then you head. Breathe in, do it again. Try it for five minutes straight. Loud enough to block out the voice in your head. Loud enough to block out your thoughts. Just focus on the noise.

Imagine toxins and worries and thoughts and crumpled feelings streaming out of the top of your head, as your Aaaah  pushes them out.

Try it.

And then feel the difference before and after.

A mini-break for your head.

There is also Yoga and jogging and the gym of course. But when you are stressed try not to exercise with a mp3 player plugged into your head. It doesn’t help the stress.

You need to let your body calm down, not keep exciting it.

Try it.

Reference:

see also – Stress, emotions and food