Stress is such an important and relevant topic nowadays, so I thought that why not share my knowledge about it. All of us confront stress sometimes, some more often then others, each and every one of us in a different manner, but stress is inevitable at times. Therefore, it's an important topic to discuss. So, let's talk a little about stress, eating, weight and gut health!
What is stress?
First and foremost, let’s make one thing crystal clear. There are two types of stress, the so called “good” and “bad” stress. Good stress could be defined as a temporary situation from which your body can recover quite easily. It can even enhance your performance, for example in a test situation. Then there’s the bad stress, stress that has continued for a long period of time, and from which your body cannot recover as easily. It can be caused by e.g. work, studies or a difficult situation in life. This long lasting, bad stress is the cause of the health problems which will talk about very soon.
Fat gain and unhealthy cravings
Next let’s check what physiologically happens in your body when it’s exposed to chronic stress. Firstly, neuropeptide Y is released from the brain, causing our appetite to increase and fat storage to happen more easily. Another signal molecule, called cortisol, is constantly released, causing a boost in food cravings and the release of another molecule, ghrelin, which controls hunger. When your ghrelin levels are up, you feel more hungry, despite having eaten or not. All these effects happening simultaneously for a long period of time will most likely lead to weight gain.
When we’re feeling more hungry from the effects mentioned above, we’re most likely to go towards quick, fatty and sugary foods/snacks. Eating these fatty and sugary foods will activate the dopaminergic pathways and the reward system, causing us to feel pleasure from eating. Easily this stress, eating unhealthily and feeling rewarded from it, creates a vicious circle.
Gut bacteria and the development of a child
To add one more interesting thing into this post, let’s talk a little about gut bacteria. Stress has plenty of harmful effects, and it’s not doing any good to the gut flora either. We need all the good bacteria in our guts to work in digestion and they also play an important role in our immune system. When the microbiota is developing, and the little human being exposed to stress, it obviously has negative effects on the gut health. When being exposed to stress, the composition of bacteria will diminish and the permeability increases, which allows pathogens to have an easier access to the body.
What to do?
I’m not an expert giving advice to avoid stress, I do stress a lot myself as well. Therefore, I’m only going to give you one simple thing to think about. Focus on your mental health, taking care of yourself should always be your number one priority. You cannot take care of anyone else unless you’re being taken cared of, by yourself.
Have a stress-free weekend!
-Jasmin ❤
Hi @jasmink) Great post! Few people actually think about the relationship of stress and nutrition! Such articles are also a way to take care of others! :)
Thank you so much @dponbl4! I think that we should always share the valuable knowledge we have, if even one person can benefit from it, it's worth it! :)
Have a wonderful weekend!
Thank you!) And you have a wonderful weekend)))
No, but thanks! :)
Have a nice party tonight and a blessed weekend! :P
Sounds great, have fun! :)
good post @jasmink I think some times we chase the symptoms of stress when we should be talking about stress.
Well said, @steven-patrick, I totally agree with you! Talking about any problem we may have is so important. We should really try to understand why those problems occur, what do they do to us and what can we do about them. I think that's the key!
Have a wonderful day! :)
Yes, it’s such a vicious cycle. Stressing out, reaching for comfort foods to pacify your anxiety and gaining stubborn weight that is difficult to shed, feeling bad about the weight gain and stressing out about losing it. Especially in this day and age it is so important that everyone take care of themselves emotionally, spiritually and physically. I believe our gut health is the key to our overall health so it’s quite imperative that we are aware of what we are feeding, the good bacteria or the bad bacteria.
Great post @jasmink! I hope you’re not stressing yourself out too much with your studies. We are the most important person we should take care of. Dandays and I are wishing you a happy Halloween weekend from over here :)
"it’s quite imperative that we are aware of what we are feeding, the good bacteria or the bad bacteria" you put it so well, it basically summarizes it all! I'm naturally the kind of person who's stressing easily about everything, but I'm working on it. As I've started to pay a lot more attention to all the aspects of my health, I've noticed how my stress levels decrease, and it's feeling great! I've also started to encourage my friends to do the same. Every now and then, we all need a reminder of that health comes first. You surely don't have to give 100 % of yourself all the time, and if you do, you'll just end up very stressed and burning yourself out.
A few days ago I was wondering when will it be Halloween, this weekend or the next one. Apparently it's already here! For me it'll be a normal weekend, but I hope you'll have a great Halloween over there! Do you celebrate it somehow? :)
I definitely appreciate the reminders to self love more often for my own health. It’s tough to relax sometimes but is a must to maintain internal balance.
Halloween is actually on October 31st, which is on Wednesday I believe. However we celebrate our pumpkin carving and baking on the Sunday before. The kids will be out trick or treating on Wednesday night though. I’m actually trying to reconcile what we’ll be handing out this year. Since I wouldn’t give a child what I wouldn’t eat myself I’m debating between nuts or raisins (chocolate covered of course). 🤷🏼♀️ I’ll let you know what we decide. Haha
Exactly, relaxing can be so hard sometimes, yet, it's really important. Those little reminders to self love are vital for our health, at least I find them really helpful! :)
Chocolate covered raisins vs. nuts, that's a tough choice! However, both are delicious so you can't go wrong. I hope all the kids will appreciate them as much as we do!
p.s. Remember the veganized Belgian waffle 😋
Haha… veganize Belgian Waffle, got it. Haha
So I still don’t know what exatly to pass out. We don’t want to be the lame house that passes out raisins (this is my husband talking). He already said stickers were a no go too. Haha… maybe some old fashioned suckers would do 🤷🏼♀️
I'd totally be the lame house giving just "healthy" stuff for the kids, haha. But they are probably getting enough candy already, so why not? 🤷🏼♀️ Anyhow, let me know what you'll decide! :)
I know , me too but the hubby is too cool for that. I’m not sure what we’ll compromise on but will definitely share it. Today is pumpkin carving day so will share that too. I love carving pumpkins, it’s so meditative.