Could the stress we don't know about be wearing us down?
The types of Stress we Overlook!
Stress and stress management are growing concerns in today’s work force. It decreases work productivity, affects our health, distracts us from work, increases absenteeism and most of all, it affects the company’s bottom line.
Managing stress has dealt mostly with telling people to take the time to smell the roses, exercise, deep breathing, meditation, visualization, journaling, etc. But, what exactly is stress? Isn’t our body was designed to handle stress? Yes, but acute, short-term stress -- NOT constant prolonged stress.
Stress is more than a mental or emotional problem. It is typically described as any type of mental stimulus that triggers worry and fear. It’s that ‘fight or flight’ mode that we’ve heard about - running from the proverbial saber tooth tiger. This signals the body, specifically the adrenal glands, to produce stress hormones… adrenaline, cortisol and norepinephrine. This real problem occurs when we constantly produce our stress hormones and overwork our adrenal glands. The constant production of our stress hormones have a direct effect on our ability to lose weight, cravings, diabetes, depression, high blood pressure, cholesterol, PMS, hot flashes, insomnia and the list goes on.
It’s easy to identify your stress if it is work, finances, relationships, etc…but what about the stresses we don’t think of? Can we be adding to our stress levels and not even know it? Have we focused only on the mental stresses and overlooked how diet and exercise can contribute to stress?
Stress is cumulative….
Yes, diet and exercise can increase the stress in your life! Keep in mind, stress is anything that triggers our adrenal glands to work more. Digestive difficulties, blood sugar imbalances and exercise will cause the body to produce more of its stress hormones. This constant demand can eventually deplete and exhaust our adrenal glands and cause adrenal fatigue and exhaustion, which is an underlying problem to many of our health issues.
Blood sugar - When we skip meals -- our blood sugar drops. Low blood sugar is associated with cravings and lightheadedness, but it also affects mental function, including concentration and our ability to think clearly. Low blood sugar due to skipped meals or poor dietary choices trigger the adrenal glands to produce more cortisol and adrenaline. Eating processed, refined, junk foods will throw our blood sugar out of balance and triggers additional demand on the adrenal glands. Add that to all the mental stress going on and you can eventually deplete and exhaust your adrenal glands.
Digestive difficulties - The second culprit, which is often overlooked, is bloating, gas, indigestion, heartburn and other irritable bowel problems. Digestive difficulties are a huge problem! Antacids and other digestive products are in the top 5 sellers for prescription and OTC drugs!
Digestive problems cause irritation and inflammation in your stomach. This triggers your adrenal glands to produce additional cortisol, which works as a powerful anti-inflammatory, needed to reduce the inflammation in your stomach. The result is the adrenals are over-taxed, which further depletes and fatigues them!
Exercise – There’s nothing better than punching the heavy bag or running or lifting some weight to let some steam off. But the intensity of the exercise could be adding more stress to the body. Exercise triggers the adrenals to produce more cortisol and adrenaline. The more intense the workout the more stress hormones you produce.
Aerobic exercise (walking, jogging, swimming, dance, etc…) at low to moderate intensity is stress reducing. On the other hand, moderate to high intensity exercise will trigger additional cortisol and adrenaline, which is stress producing.
Exercising at too high an intensity level – when the body is already fatigued and exhausted is a contributing problem. This is why it is so important to recognize the difference between aerobic training and aerobic “metabolism.” The thought that exercise cures everything just isn’t right. Your current health and fitness level, along with the amount of stress in your life may dictate a more easy, low intensity workout instead of the “no pain no gain” motto.
Identifying where the stress is coming from is critical. If you only focus on the mental stresses and overlook the other types of stresses – could be the reason why your health has been suffering. The key is to identify where the stress is coming from and reduce it.
Simple solutions for ‘managing ‘overlooked’ stress…
·Don’t skip or delay meals.
·Stay away from refined, processed, junk foods and snacks.
·Eat protein and good fats with each meal to keep blood sugar stable.
·Take your time to eat and digest your foods…Eating on the run is a ‘NO, NO’.
·Add a good digestive enzyme like Digest Plus if you struggle with digestive problems.
·Avoid common food allergen such as: dairy, wheat, corn, soy, caffeine, MSG and artificial sweeteners for 2-4 weeks
·Follow good food combining principles.
oeat fruits by themselves
oeat protein with fibrous vegetables
orefrain from protein and starchy vegetables
·Keep exercise intensity low to moderate for a while
·Use a heart rate monitor to determine your intensity level for aerobic exercise
·A good rule of thumb - keep your heart rate below (180 minus your age = maximum targeted heart rate for aerobic exercise) targeted heart rate. When you exercise above that level you increase the amount of cortisol and adrenaline
Most importantly we need to be nourishing the adrenal glands, because all the stress will deplete the body of specific nutrients and cause hormonal and metabolic imbalance. Nutrients like vitamin C, B, zinc, selenium and various adaptogenic herbs such as ashwagandha, rhodiola, cordyceps, and ginseng are known to support and strengthen the adrenal glands.
These are the first simple steps you can take to reduce the load of stress on your body. If you think stress is a problem, use the online health quizzes to help identify where the stress is coming from. You can also learn more about proper aerobic and anaerobic training in “To Burn or Not to Burn, Fat is the Question” (Brown Books) along with tips on food combining and food allergies. Next time I’ll go into more detail about how blood sugar controls your mental concentration, blood pressure, cholesterol and hormonal imbalances.
