If the year is flying by for you as it is for me and you realize that Easter is just around this
corner, don’t stress! It’s bad for your health. A recent article in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics highlighted the correlation between stress and obesity. There are several types of stress. There can be stress caused by trauma that requires healing, stress from the environment such as pollution, eustress which is a positive stressor such as the excitement from a baby being born or receiving a job promotion, and then there is psychological stress.
Psychological stress or ‘emotional stress’ can be one the most difficult to deal with and can have a profound effect on your diet quality and body weight. Stress from trauma such as a surgery or stress from working out can actually make you lose your appetite while many studies are showing a linkage between high emotional stress and poor diet quality and higher body weights. This makes sense of the cliché ‘girl consuming a tub of ice cream after breaking up with her boyfriend’ scenario. For the rest of us, we have succumbed to overeating or eating the wrong things during other stressful times such as moving or being stressed out by work.
Carbohydrates also replenish levels of the feel good hormone serotonin. Serotonin can actually diminish the feeling of stress. There are no studies though that confirm eating high carbohydrate foods such as sugar rich brownies, cookies, or other decadent items can produce an actual calming effect via serotonin. There may be another link that produces this feeling which involves the delicious flavors and fond memories of childhood these foods may trigger.
Cortisol is a hormone that is produced during periods of stress. Cortisol has been linked to increased appetite and gains in body fat. With consistent Cortisol also keeps blood sugars elevated by preventing the action of insulin and promoting the production of glucose in the body to have energy ready for whatever stress the body may encounter.
Nutrient availability during periods of stress also may negatively be altered. Since the body is in stress mode as opposed to the relaxation stage, the digestion is no longer as proficient as it usually is. This means less nutrient absorption. This can impair your immune system, not to mention the cortisol suppresses the immune system.
So with that in mind, leave the stress behind and don’t sweat the petty things or let the big things cause stress to linger! An unhealthy body will only add to the stress load. So do your mind and body a favor and just kick back, relax, and enjoy not only this Easter holiday but every day.
What do you like to do to get a little R and R?
Works Cited:
1.) Moore C, Cunningham S. Social Position, Psychological Stress, and Obesity: A Systematic Review. J of the Academy of Nutr and Dietetics 2012;112(4 ), 518-526.
2.) Rask E, Walker B, Soderberg S, Livingstone D, Eliasson M, Johnson O, Andrew R. Olsson T. Tissue- Specific Changes in Peripheral Cortisol Metabolism in Obesse Women: Increased Adipose 11β-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Type 1 Activity. J of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. 2002.; 87 (7) 3330-3336.
