How your food could be stressing you out
When you hear the word stress you may immediately think about physical or mental stress. The feeling you get when you are under pressure and want to pull your hair out and it feels like smoke is coming out of your ears. Okay, that may be a bit more of an exaggeration and while stress does make you feel like this, there are actually 8 causes of stress and only one of those is good stress.
Today we will look at nutritional stress. What that means and how your body is affected.
Nutrition includes the foods that we eat and drink. Things that are nutrient-rich may be broken down by our digestive system and absorbed by our cells. Seems pretty simple; however, there are a few things that may affect your body's ability to absorb nutrients. Firstly, the food that we are eating does not contain the nutrients that our bodies require to repair and function properly. Secondly, our bodies may not absorb properly possibly due to lower levels of digestive enzymes, poor gut health, and the need for probiotics or even dis-eases. And thirdly, we are unable to get enough healthy food, so have to resort to processed foods to fill our hunger void.
How does poor nutrition affect us?
Now you may feel that you are eating nutritiously, but your body may actually suffer malnutrition due to the processes happening inside your body or the lack of nutrition inside the foods you are eating. On top of this, your foods may have additives, GMOs, fillers, binders, preservatives, and so forth that your body sees as foreign and causes stress inside your body. This stress in turn causes the body to go into a stress response which elevates cortisol and adrenaline levels inside your body and in turn activates the sympathetic nervous system and reduces activity in the parasympathetic nervous system, which takes care of your food digestion and other processes while your body rests. Another factor affecting absorption may be a medical condition leading to malnutrition, such as lack of appetite from cancer, pain, nausea or mental health conditions which may affect your ability to care for yourself.
Overall poor nutrition can impair your daily health and wellness and reduce your ability to lead an enjoyable and active life. In the early stages, poor nutrition can contribute to stress, tiredness, and being able to function at work. Over time, if poor nutrition becomes chronic it can contribute to illnesses and other health issues like obesity, tooth decay, diabetes, osteoporosis, some cancers, depression, eating disorders, and so forth.
Nutritious food is your first line of defense and plays an essential role in managing stress and overall wellness. Food and specifically good nutrition provide the much-needed energy, vitamins, and minerals to counteract the negative effects of stress while also offering a protective barrier against future stresses. To have good nutrition it is recommended you eat a balanced meal that includes each of the five food groups each day. This includes aiming for 2 servings of fruits and 5 servings of vegetables, drinking fresh water, enjoying healthy recipes, planning meals and shopping lists ahead of time, limiting caffeine, salty and sugary foods, enjoying good fats in moderation, and cooking and eating healthy foods without distractions.
In the short term, poor nutrition can contribute to your stress, tiredness, and your capacity to work, and if it continues long term, it can contribute to the risk of developing some illnesses and other health problems such as: being overweight or obese, tooth decay, and high blood pressure.
Try to find good quality, organic foods when possible. Eat processed, sugary, salty, and fatty foods in moderation. Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables daily and when you find you cannot then take a high-quality, high-absorbency supplement to fill in the gaps between your food's nutrition and the nutrition your body’s cells require.
If you are interested in learning about the supplements that I have personally tested, feel free to email me today: hopecreator8@gmail.com
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