Stress can come from anywhere –
anger or frustration an illness, the mere thoughts, deadlines at work, a new
home, the birth of a child, shopping, and the headlines in your newspaper. The
stress of handling it all can make you anxious, cranky and tired. Stress is
exhausting, can make you sick. The less serious conditions that are
stress-related are fatigue, headache, heartburn, indigestion, insomnia, and
even hair loss.
But stress also undermines the
immune system and can increase susceptibility to infection, heart disease, and
cancer. Stress affects everything you do. Some behaviors that appear to be
caused by low self worth overeating, not exercising, neglecting our own needs
are really caused by having too little time and too much stress. In and of itself,
stress is neither negative nor positive. It is our reaction to stress that
affects our physical and emotional health. Although everyone experience stress,
not everyone handles it constructively. For instance in addition to zapping
your energy, stress depletes your time. You are less likely to make yourself a
salad for dinner and more likely to rip open a bag of corn chips while you sit
on the cough and watch the evening news. You may think this is relaxing and
that yu are dealing with the stress of crazy day, but you are not. Actually
you’re adding your stress by not eating well. The healthier you are the better
you can handle stress. You need to have your body working at maximum capacity
to deal with stress.
The bottom line in dealing with
stress is to cope, to handle the stress in such a way that it doesn’t harm you.
Life is one stressful situation after another, and there’s no way to remove
stress from your life. And you shouldn’t want to. It’s stress that challenges
you and makes you grow. Stress is what keeps us all going. What should you do
about stress? There are several types of techniques for battling the negative
effects of stress everything from exercise and meditation to taking 15 minute
mini vacation from stress several times a day. The right diet can also
help.
Good diet will give you the
strength you need and keep your immune system and nervous system in great
shape. Thus, to understand why good nutritional habits are essential during
periods of stress, it is very important to recognize how the body responds to
stress. When faced with a huge dose of stress the body relies on the digestive
system. Epinephrine “adrenaline” the stress hormone, is released from the
adrenal glands. This hormone travels through the body to increase blood pressure
heart rate, and breathing. Digestion shuts down fats and sugars are release
from stores in the body, and cholesterol levels rise. The result of these
hormonal changes is an aroused and tense state that prepares a person to meet
danger. This is known as the fight or flight response. This response was needed
back when cavemen had to react to physical danger. When the danger was no
longer threatening the body would return to normal.
The reacts to stress in the same
way, but instead of running or fighting you just get the stressed out state.
And you can stay in a state of tension unless you find ways to release it. Food
can affect stress in many ways. What you eat either can promote or relieve
stress. It can also either help or hinder how the body handles the physical
stress response. To build up your resistance to stress try these eating tips.
1.
Don’t Skip Meals: Stress depletes you of energy. Many
people really don’t eat enough, either because they don\t have time or because
they are trying to lose weight. Since food is essential of energy, these
practices actually increase stress. When you skip meals, you don’t tolerate
stress as well because you lack energy.
2.
Eat for energy: The first rule is to be consistent. Eat
at regular times each day even if you are not hungry. That way you will head
off hunger pangs that are bound to surface later, and spacing meals four to six
hours apart and filling in with snacks when required.
3.
Eat Enough: If you know you have to expend an enormous
amount of energy in the morning, you have to take a good breakfast. If you are
mood swings and fatigue in the early afternoon. Make your breakfast low in fat
focusing on complex carbohydrates. Some good suggestions are whole grain cereal
with low fat milk or toast with yogurt or cheese for added protein. A breakfast
full of sugar, may give you a temporary boost but will leave you drained an
hour later just about the time you are ready to being your presentation.
4.
Do Break for Lunch: Eating lunch at your desk may
sound like a good way to squeeze in some extra work, but it’s better for your
stress level to get away for a while. Eat separate from where you spend the
rest of your stress filled day. Let coworkers know you don’t want to talk about
work or other stressful situation while you eat. A powerful lunch is okay once
in a while, however don’t make it habit. It only adds to your stress level and interferes with your
digestive process.
5.
Don’t Overeat: When people are under a great deal of
stress, they often tend to do things in excess, whether its eating, drinking or
spending. Giving in to the anxiety from stress makes you feel calm and in
control but this euphoria is only temporary. A few days later there’s guilt for
the indulgent behavior and that compounds the original stress. Thus, overeating
and compulsive eating typically affect those who haven’t learned to handle
stress or how to express anxiety and tension orally. Stock up fresh fruits
yogurt rice cakes and herbal tea.
6.
Don’t give in to Sugar Carvings. There is not person
alive who hasn’t at some point reached for a chocolate bar in the middle of a
stress packed afternoon. Some people triggered by an onslaught of continual
stress, go on sugar binges. They devour large quantities of sweets a bag of
cookies a quart of ice cream at a time. When you’re stressed you are perhaps
drawn to junk foods. Chocolate and cookies won’t make stress go away. Eating
sweets may give you an initial boost of energy, but within an hour you would be
feel even more sluggish tense, and irritable.
7.
Drink lots of Fluids: Dehydration causes fatigue and
clouds your thinking. Try to have 2 quarts of fluid each day, either plain water
or non-caffeinated beverages such as juice or herbal tea. If you work in an
office all day, you should try to drink even more fluids. Dry, overheated or
highly air conditioned buildings increase the rate at which the body loses
water.
8.
Don’t Rely on Coffee: Some people turn to coffee tea
or caffeinated soda for a quick pick me up. You feel more energetic at first,
however after the effects wear off, you may feel even more tired and crave
another energy boost. Too much caffeine also can make you edgy. Caffeine acts
in the body like a shot of epinephrine, increasing the heart rate and blood
pressure. Caffeine is a diuretic; it causes dehydration which is fatiguing. To counter
it, drink a glass of water for every cup of coffee tea or soda you have.
9.
Don’t use Alcohol to Relieve Stress: Many people drink
when they are tense and uncomfortable. They reach for a glass of wine or some
beer to unwind after a stressful day. Alcohol does give an immediate sense of
stress relief, but once the buzz is gone, so is the good mood. Alcohol also
causes disrupted sleep, which makes stress even more likely to return. Alcohol
deprives the body of nutrients from other foods. Alcohol is metabolized by the
liver, it uses up niacin and thiamin, which means these B vitamins are not available
for other purposes. Alcohol also depletes your energy by dehydrating the body.
Since alcohol is a diuretic, which increases the output of urine, it causes the
loss of such water soluble minerals as magnesium, potassium and zinc.
So, eat regularly and eat enough,
so pay careful attention to eating a good well balanced diet when you are under
lot of stress. Stress also leads to Anxiety and depression, which are very
difficult situation. So try to relax and calm, don’t take too much tension.
Every work takes their own time so taking more stress will not change the situation.
