LESSEN THE STRESS IN YOUR LIFE By Assessing Your Food Intake
Picture this: a 56-year-old female, working mother of three, real estate agent, and wife. She works for a prestigious real estate company in Naples, FL. Her three children are 8, 11, and 14 years old and all play competitive sports. Her husband also works full time and travels two weeks out of the month. She wakes up at 4:15 a.m. to complete her workout each day before the chaos begins, and it doesn’t slow down until her head hits the pillow at night. She struggles with her sleep, getting her weight down to her “normal” level, irritable bowel syndrome, and exhaustion. The problem is not that she is overeating or not exercising enough. The ultimate problem is the effect her stress has on her hormones and body internally. You may not feel that you are under a lot of stress because it is just what you’re used to. However, it can significantly impact you internally. Cortisol, a stress hormone, is a steroid released in response to internal stress. It is the “fight or flight” hormone released from the adrenal glands. The adrenal gland is part of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Without getting into too much detail, the HPA axis is the main stress axis that controls our metabolism, immune system, mental health, and more. Cortisol helps the body respond to stress by regulating blood sugar and fighting infections, though too much cortisol is not a good thing. Chronic elevation of cortisol leads to a redistribution of fat to the abdominal area. In addition, it leads to a cascade of problems on our stress axis and symptoms within our body: • Poor sleep • Abdominal fat
a blood sugar spike a particular food causes. High glycemic foods like fruit and pasta are not good for blood sugar control, weight loss, or sustained energy. • Eating causes cortisol to increase. However, if our meals are routinely protein-based , fiber-filled , and balanced with the proper complex carbohydrates, we elicit a controlled cortisol response instead of a spike. • When we DON’T eat, meaning we go more than four hours without eating, the blood sugar is also unstable, causing a spike in cortisol as the body’s response tries to balance the glucose levels. Night Eating — Eating at night will cause the release of cortisol (remember, eating triggers cortisol). • If you fall asleep on the couch, have a midnight snack, then head to bed, you might want to rethink this, as cortisol release late at night can interrupt your sleep pattern, metabolism, rest, and more. • Avoiding sugar at night will lower a cortisol release. It is essential to identify the elevation of the cortisol level, determine the cause of the high cortisol level, and treat the problem appropriately. Most of us cannot take our exogenous stress away, but we can control cortisol response in many different ways. Focusing on low glycemic index foods, adequate protein in the diet, high fiber intake, and proper hydration is vital to controlling the cortisol response. Reducing foods like gluten, dairy, and soy-based foods can reduce inflammation internally, which also reduces the stress response in the body. It is certainly important to address some other factors that impact our stress response and immune system: • Sleep Deprivation — Remember, adequate rest is the key to cell regeneration, recovery, blood sugar stability, and balanced cortisol release. • Pain — Pain is stressful. Pain and stress can be both the cause and the result of a leaky gut. • Medications — Certain medications can trigger the stress response, immune system, and cortisol release! We set ourselves up for success by starting with what we have the most control over, our food choices and gut health. If you struggle with sleep, energy, gut health, weight loss, headaches, and hormone control, it is time to assess your food intake.
• Loose stool or constipation • Abdominal pain, bloating, or cramping • Rash or hives • Low energy
• Waking up tired • Headaches • Sugar and
(often called “skinny fat”)
• Anxiety or depression • Mood swings
salt cravings
• Increased heart rates
Exogenous stress from work, children, spouse, home life, family, and travel impacts our system. However, it is affected by more than just that. Our food and nutrition play a significant role in our stress response, immune system, metabolism, and mental health. High Glycemic Foods and Skipping Meals — Consuming foods high in sugar or skipping meals can cause cortisol release. The glycemic index measures how much of
–Jenni Berman
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