Stress

As it’s national stress awareness day I thought I would jump on here and give a quick viewpoint. For me stress is a huge factor in things going a bit askew in the body. When we are in fight or flight mode so many bodily functions cease in preparation to either have the energy to run or to attack (used to be sabre tooth tigers but now it’s just the boss). So hormone levels change, digestion stops, neurotransmitters go off on a tangent and tell your brain and mood all sorts. So as you can imagine living in this constant state of stress on the body takes its toll. We are in bad moods, put on weight due to change in cravings for high energy dense foods. Our digestive system becomes highly stressed and therefore our microorganisms change and we can experience bloating and changes in bowel movements. This is all due to us living in this “sympathetic” nervous system which is not so sympathetic to us. In my experience there are a few things we can have in our tool kit to help us switch to the para-sympathetic nervous system - the “rest and digest” side.

• breath - if we can walk away from a situation and take a few moments to breathe slowly in for 4-6 counts then out through the nose for 4-6 counts this really helps slow down the heart rate.
• take a step back - instead of reacting just observe what is happening in the situation- ask for a moment if you are speaking with someone and just think how you would like to react - this can take practice (I should know) but is emotionally intelligent and will also help to calm. People will experience you in a calmer manner and then equally react calmer to you - this even works with the kids!
• take 10 - minutes that is to go and sit with yourself - think about all the things stressing you and write a list - get the chaos out of your head and onto paper - that way you can action things off in order of priority and the stress should dissipate.
• food - finally we got to food but where stress is concerned all the above should be observed too. We are one whole person at the end of the day. But it’s quite simple - eat seasonally, get in some magnesium rich foods like bananas and sweet potatoes, green leafy veggies and choose healthier options but don’t deprive as we have all, I am sure been very stressed when we are HANGRY!!! Also the gut and brain are linked by the Vagus Nerve so to have a healthy mind is to have a healthy gut and vice versa. So think about taking some probiotic rich foods such as kefir, sauerkraut and drink kombucha.

*always remember if you are unsure about what you’re doing, instruct the help of a nutrition professional as each person is different and has different needs. If you are struggling it’s always best to get help.