Managing Stress with Good Nutrition
Do you really think that the food you put in your body can actually affect how you respond to stress? Well, a recent webinar I took part in, Managing Stress with Good Nutrition, provided an insight into how to combat stress by using nutrition.
In our modern society there is no doubt there are far too many things to do in too little time. That constant sense of urgency generates a sense of anxiety. What’s more, anything can trigger stress: deadlines, relationship struggles or financial worries. The question is how do you respond to that stress and actively maintain your health?
We have all heard that stress triggers a fight or flight response. That response provides our bodies with access to an energy resource that enables us to run up to a mile to escape threat. Now that was useful in prehistoric times; however, the same reaction does not work with looming deadlines. You can try it; however, the deadline won’t disappear, even if you launch into an urgent dash. If you think about it, there could be fascinating scenes taking place in offices all over the world if the urgent dash became the standard response to even the smallest stressful event.
The thing is that fight or flight has a strong effect on the body because the energy for that dash has to come from somewhere. That somewhere is all the repair and maintenance jobs taking place around the body as well as the digestive system. This is why prolonged stress often results in stomach ache or irritable bowel syndrome.
Signs of long term stress:
· Lower energy levels
· Low blood sugar
· Dizziness
· Irritability
· Insomnia
· Physical pain/ tension
· No focus
· Reduced capacity to deal with stress
· Mental fog
· Slow metabolism
· Thyroid issues
· High blood-pressure
· Weight gain
So how do you manage the stress with nutrition?
First understand that stress affects your body and it perceives you are under threat. With this in mind, the body fuels up for attack and when it is not attacked, it holds onto that fuel. Unless you do something physical then that fuel is redistributed as fat, usually around the middle because the liver converts fat to energy in the form of glucose. When under stress the body is constantly hungry and desires carbs such as biscuits, chocolate and cake for quick energy access. This is how the sugar and caffeine roller-coaster begins and what goes up fast will descend at the same velocity. What you might not realise is caffeine stimulates adrenaline which in turn releases sugar into your blood for fight or flight. The cycle of highs and lows begins. When your body is in this cycle it is in a cycle of nutrition stress. So the stress in your inner world is perpetuated in the outer world. The question is: what are you willing to do to break the cycle? Imagine a life which felt effortless and you had the energy to experience life fully. Isn’t that enough of a motivation? Go on try the following – dare you!
How would you feel about not having sugar? Well that is the first step. Sugar actually has no nutrients and uses nutrients already in your body to be metabolised. It is then a case of introducing good nutrition into your day. The ideal way to start the day is either with eggs and salmon or porridge made with one of many varieties of milks with berries and flax seed. Snacks can be transformed from chocolate and crisps to nuts, humus and carrots.
Ideally you want to eat three meals a day with the potential of two healthy snacks. Afternoon healthy snacks are important because we have a natural energy dip around 2pm. That is the prime time for temptation. Don’t skip meals. Avoid caffeine, nicotine and alcohol. Always include protein in your meals with good fats found in avocado, nuts, olives and seeds. Finally stay hydrated with the main liquid intake being water. Try substituting coffee with green tea, herbal teas or hot water with lemon. The thing is we have developed food habits and it usually takes a few weeks to break a habit. So how about setting yourself one month without caffeine and/or sugar and see what happens. You may well find that because your food is not causing you stress that you transform your perception and discover that you respond and experience life in a very different way.
A few books by Ruby Allure
Come on admit it - as much as we deny it - we ladies like a good love hunt.
We have tick lists, ideals, and we hunt in high-heeled packs. Of course, we're all hunting for that elusive right man who ticks every box and even has tidy nostril hair. Okay maybe not you, but you know other ladies who love the hunt.
Well, it's time for Eva and Gracie to love hunt, and their "targets" are rich men - the golden sperm. Such exciting escapades would provide the pair with entertaining discussions during their dull office hours - or so they thought. What they did not anticipate was the discovery of the "booby man"; humorous but very hard truths about wealth, themselves, power; and the RichIdiot.com phenomenon.
The question remains: can love really be hunted?
LINKS TO AMAZON.COM:
I thought I may as well add the most recent Money Farm review... Love it!
Gillian’s world is turned upside down when she is unexpectedly ‘released’ from her job. Her government funding is revoked after the board decides they did not like a paper she wrote on ‘Reactants, resistance, reflexivity and reversal in times of financial and social hardship.’
All of a suddenly her secure life has gone. What will she do? All around her people are getting into debt, being encouraged to spend more than they have, buy things they don’t need. Possessions are everything, all that matters. Why? How had the world gotten into this state, and why didn’t the powers that be want to hear what she had to say?
Not taking her redundancy laying down Gillian’s resolve hardens as she actively strives to understand the financial system and money handling. Living on her savings whilst looking for a job, she soon discovers that it won’t be long before she is homeless.
But what about M.O.N.E.Y? The people who work for M.O.N.E.Y live at the Money Farm, which was a series of huge walled islands, linked by bridges, which has been in existence for over 200 years. Gillian becomes obsessed with the M.O.N.E.Y concept. Who are these people, how are they chosen? M.O.N.E.Y is totally self-sufficient, secretive, she has to know more.
How do you become part of M.O.N.E.Y, this amazing organisation whose employees themselves are intriguing?
Then, one day she follows a M.O.N.E.Y employee out of a shop and asks the man the leading question “How do I become one of you?”
This simple question, and his reply changes her life forever.
As she trains and is inducted into the world of M.O.N.E.Y, Gillian soon discovers that she has in fact been chosen. Her militant nature and questioning attitude allows her to think outside the box. However, I wondered, as the story progressed, did M.O.N.E.Y have any idea of what her impact would be?
This was a fascinating book, deep and very thought provoking, it made you wonder…
I will certainly be looking out for more very interesting books by this talented author.
