The first thing to know about food and stress is that the brain functions best when blood-glucose is stable. The more stable the less likely you are to go running to the vending machine. The problem is that simple carbohydrates are responsible for the instability in the first place. And what do you find in the vending machine? Simple carbohydrates of course! When sugar was introduced into our diet on a large scale to counter the highs and lows of the working day it was just the beginning of our problems. Ever since, our consumption of simple carbohydrates, found in almost all mass produced snacks, has been one of the factors that have helped drive our stress levels through the roof!
In an effort to reduce ’stress eating’ the first thing to do, is to get blood-glucose stable. And to do that you need to replace the simple carbohydrates you eat with complex carbohydrates. With complex carbohydrates there is a slow release of sugar into the blood. You don’t get the elevated insulin levels that are necessary to burn off the excess sugar and at the same time you reduce your risk of diabetes.
It should be stated that this does not mean going on a diet! It requires a complete change in lifestyle with regard to what you consume. You may have tried yourself to reduce stress by eating more bananas or avocados to raise serotonin levels but I have no doubt at all that this didn’t work. That’s because these things were only added to what you generally eat and would have had little impact on their own.
Epidemiological research indicates that states of anxiety and depression are on the increase as more people switch from traditional diets in favour of the western diet. The simple fact is our diet is full of nutritionally empty food. Our addiction to simple carbohydrates and salt has left us with a desensitized sense of taste to the point a lot of us no longer enjoy the foods that are good for us. Like a lot of things in the modern world we have been seduced by short term solutions (emotional binge eating) with total disregard to the long term consequences.
If you must eat or drink during moments of stress then your best option would be with complex carbohydrates. Don’t turn to caffeinated tea or coffee. Caffeine can block certain receptors that normally inhibit glutamate release causing increased levels of anxiety and stress.
One powerful weapon would be to drink the juice of freshly squeezed fruits and vegetables. There are many fantastic recipes on the Internet that will satisfy the craving for something sweet and at the same time quench the thirst with the most natural water one can find. They also taste wonderful and may help you get back to appreciating the best that nature can provide.
Wherever possible try to choose plant foods that are organic and have been grown locally. There is increasing evidence that pollutants are contributing to our overall levels of anxiety and stress by upsetting the delicate balance of chemicals in the brain. Buying locally produced fruits and vegetables ensures you are eating food with high nutritional content. Even if you shop for the week you would be eating fresher products than those shipped half way round the world. It is well worth seeking out your local farmers market - as far as health is concerned nothing should be too much trouble!
Try to keep a good balance in what you eat. People evolved by eating lots of unrefined carbohydrates for energy, some fat for storage and warmth, and protein (mainly from plant foods) for growth and repair of the body. It appears that fad diets have been responsible for many of the nutritional deficiencies that impact correct mental functioning. Go back to the basics and keep things simple. This includes the snacks you eat in order to cope with stress.
Don’t get confused about low carbohydrate and high carbohydrate diets, just stick to complex carbohydrates. Low carbohydrate diets have been shown to increase tension and anger. On a side note, if you are eating too much hard cheese it’s probably generating too much acid in the blood. In some people this can cause severe depression, not something that will help alleviate stress!
For more tips to reduce stress eating, read some of the other blog entries on this site, especially those to do with exercise and learning how to relax.
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This post was written by admin on March 2, 2009
