Stress and Nutrition:

The Link Between Stress and Nutrition Deficiencies

How Does Stress Affect Your Nutrition?

Stress and Nutrition: Stress can be a problem in itself, of course. But stress can sometimes lead to unhealthy lifestyle patterns—which lead to more stress! For example, when we’re harried and under stress, we tend to make poor food choices. Unfortunately, these food choices can create more stress in the long run, as well as other problems. As you read the following ways in which stress can affect our nutritional choices, ask yourself this: when feeling overwhelmed, have you found yourself doing any of the following?

Drinking Too Much Coffee: When burning the candle at both ends, people often find themselves using coffee drinks to jump-start themselves in the morning, and a pattern of all-day coffee drinking often ensues.

Eating The Wrong Foods: Due partially to increased levels of cortisol (the stress hormone)                stressed people tend to crave foods high in fat, sugar and salt. Think how often you have turned to                your good friend Baskin and Robbins after a stressful day!

Skipping Meals: Another thing overly stressed people tend to do is skip meals. Have you ever found yourself rushing out of the house without a healthy breakfast (picking up a latte doesn’t count!), or realizing you’re starving in the late afternoon because you didn’t eat enough?

Mindless Munching: Conversely, stress also makes us prone to emotional eating, when we eat when we aren’t hungry, or eat foods that are bad for us. Have you found yourself mindless snacking on junk food, or eating when you aren’t hungry, because of stress?Are you an Emotional Eater?

Forgetting Water: With busy lives, it’s easy to forget to drink your water, In fact, a good number of                  Canadians don't drink enough drink  water, and get water only from soda or coffee. Do you drink enough water for your body? Do a urine check. If it is medium to dark yellow, you aren't drinking

enough. It should be light yellow and clear -this will indicate proper hydration.

Fast Food: People these days eat less at home  than in generations past, as it’s easier to just drive through a fast food place or go to a restaurant than to go home and cook something healthy. Unfortunately, this gets expensive, and is often unhealthy.

Crash Diets: Because of weight gain from stress, some people intentionally eat less food than they need, or try dangerous fad diets in order to lose the excess weight. Diets that aren’t balanced with fruits and vegetables, protein and healthy carbohydrates can often be bad for your health in the long run, even if they look attractive short term.

These unhealthy habits can affect our bodies in many ways.

The following are only some of them:

· Blood Sugar Imbalances: When we don’t eat enough food, or don’t eat healthy enough food (too little protein and healthy carbohydrates, too much sugar, etc.) we can experience blood sugar fluctuations. These fluctuations can lead to mood swings, fatigue, poor concentration and other negative consequences in the short term, and greater health problems like hyperglycemia in the long run. Candida can also become overgrown and cause many health and mental problems.

· Caffeine Side Effects: Too much caffeine can lead to poor concentration and decrease effectiveness, sleep disturbances, and increased levels of cortisol in the blood, as well as other negative effects. Caffeine is a dehydrator, You need to drink as many glasses of water as you have had cups of coffee.

· Poor Health Outcomes: Poor nutrition can also lead to lowered immunity so you’re more susceptible to illnesses, both minor and major. As you can imagine, this can lead to other problems, including increased stress levels.

ARE YOU AN EMOTIONAL EATER?? DO YOU WANT TO STOP BEING ONE?

DO YOU WANT TO BECOME AWARE OF WHAT IS DRIVING YOU TO EAT TO SOOTHE YOURSELF?

Get out of the hole you are in!

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