Ten Golden Rules for Stress Free Living

May is stress awareness month, which has been held every year since 1992 with the intention of spreading awareness on the causes and impacts of chronic and acute stress. Learning what stress is and how to manage or better still, prevent it is the goal of this important calendar event. We all deal with stress in different ways, what one person finds stressful, another finds challenging or even invigorating. The trick is to find coping mechanisms that allow you to manage stress so that it doesn’t overwhelm your life and impact on your health and relationships. To help you discover why stress is getting the better of you and how you can put the brakes on it, here’s a detailed guide.

Sources of Stress

Stress is a reaction to our thoughts and emotions and to the environment around us. It is a normal biological function involving the nervous system and hormones and is designed to protect us from demanding circumstances. Stressors are not just emotional in nature such as bereavement or job loss; they can also be physical in nature as a result of childbirth or surgery, or chemical due to drugs and alcohol. Even nutritional factors such as poor diet and food allergies can act as stressors.

Symptoms of chronic stress are varied and may be physical, behavioural, emotional or cognitive

The Stress Reaction

In the face of stressful situations, your adrenal glands send out a cascade of powerful hormones that trigger the release of glucose (sugar) for energy and galvanise the body into action. This is designed to keep you safe from perceived threats. The stress hormones adrenalin and cortisol are a key part of this process – cortisol ensures there are adequate levels of sugar in the blood, while adrenalin fires up your engines ready for action. Insulin also works in tandem with cortisol, to ensure sugar can enter the cells. Control mechanisms in the body are geared towards counteracting the everyday stresses of life, however, if stress is prolonged, these control mechanisms can be overwhelming and quite harmful.

Effects of Chronic Stress

Your body’s response to stress is very effective in the short term but if it’s continuous or extreme, the long-term effects can be really detrimental to your health, leading to inflammation, ageing and disease. Chronic stress is thought to be a contributory factor in numerous conditions and emotional problems including depression, comfort eating, anxiety, cancer and heart disease. Long term stress has the potential to:

•        Supress the immune system
•        Slow down the digestive system
•        Impair fertility
•        Deplete the body of nutrients
•        Hinder the body’s rate of repair
•        Negatively affect the function of major organs such as the thyroid, pancreas, liver, kidney and brain

Stress, Diet and Lifestyle

Your diet can have a significant effect on how your body manages stress. An unhealthy, erratic diet plays havoc with blood sugar levels and can push up your stress levels. You could end up feeling  anxious, tired, irritable and moody and far less able to cope with daily challenges. High sugar diets raise blood sugar sharply and increase blood sugar volatility, which over long periods of time can tire out the adrenal glands and reduce the body’s ability to respond to stress efficiently.

In an effort to normalise your blood sugar and maintain equilibrium your body uses several hormones – insulin to bring it down and the stress hormones adrenalin and cortisol to raise it up again. Because cortisol plays such a key role in maintaining blood sugar balance, eating a diet that delivers a slow steady supply of sugar into the circulation throughout the day will reduce the constant demands on this hormone.

Poor lifestyle choices such as lack of exercise, smoking, recreational drug taking and drinking excessively can also worsen stressful symptoms. Getting a handle on how to cope with stress is all down to adjusting your lifestyle and managing your blood sugar levels. Here’s what you can do:

1.Avoid High Sugar Foods

Clear your cupboards of all things sugary – the usual culprits like cakes, biscuits, chocolates and processed foods can quickly raise your blood sugar levels, which may give a temporary boost of energy, but in reality, just promote an ongoing cycle of stress. You can stabilise your blood sugar and keep stress under control easily by focussing your diet on slow releasing carbohydrates, balanced with a serving of good quality protein or healthy vegetable fats. Protein is a good source of important amino acids, many of which are needed to produce adrenal hormones and maintain a calm and relaxed state of mind. Protein also helps to slow down the release of sugar from other foods.

In addition to protein, complex carbohydrates are equally valuable in terms of blood sugar balance as they take longer to break down releasing sugar into the circulation gradually. Swop white bread, white flour, pasta and white rice with whole grains like oats, quinoa, brown or basmati rice, wholemeal bread and pasta, vegetables and fruit.These slow releasing carbohydrates help to keep blood sugar levels steady between meals. Fibre also slows the absorption of sugar from food, particularly the type of water-soluble fibre found in oat bran, beans, chickpeas, nuts, apples, pears and most vegetables

2.  Nourish your Body and Brain

Good nutrition plays a crucial role in supporting the body during stress, so you need to eat plenty of nutrient rich foods such as fruit and vegetables,  at least 5 to 10 portions a day. These supply a whole range of important vitamins and minerals that are necessary to support a stress response in the body. Stress itself will increase the need for nutrients so if you feel stressed you may already be depleted.

Research shows that the micronutrients found in fresh fruit and vegetables are associated with improved mental health.¹ Vitamin C for example may help to support the brain systems that regulate your mood and stress because of its contribution to nervous system function. Good food sources of vitamin C include: Bell peppers, guava, strawberries, citrus fruits, blackcurrants, broccoli, cabbage, tomatoes and potatoes.

Supporting the adrenal glands is also of paramount importance to ensure a balanced response to stress. Green leafy vegetables, fish, offal and wholegrains are particularly good sources of the B vitamins and essential fatty acids that contribute to adrenal function. To get a good supply of B vitamins choose from: Salmon, leafy green veggies, eggs, meat, beans, lentils, seeds, poultry, milk and yogurt.

3. Fill up on Magnesium Rich Foods

Magnesium is shown to have a positive effect on anxiety, this may be because it is involved in a wide variety of cellular processes and is known to contributes to normal psychological and muscle function. Overall, it’s a key nutrient for helping both your muscles and your mind to relax .  Magnesium interacts directly and indirectly with the activity of a number of neurotransmitters and neurohormones that are involved in the coordination of the body's response to stress.²  

Along with vitamin B6 and zinc, magnesium helps to regulate GABA activity in the brain. ³ GABA is a neurotransmitter that is involved in regulating moods in a positive way, helping you to move from a low mood to an uplifted one.Studies have shown that symptoms of magnesium deficiency and stress are very similar, the most common being mild anxiety, fatigue and irritability.⁹ Many people with chronic stress are found to have low levels of magnesium, so it pays to include plenty of magnesium rich foods in the diet. Nuts, legumes, whole cereals, and fruits have the highest magnesium content of all foods.  

4. Steer Clear of Caffeine

Often stress and fatigue can make caffeine seem very tempting.  But that quick coffee can really disrupt your blood sugar balance so that, despite giving an instant energy lift it is quickly followed by an energy crash which may leave you tired, irritable and craving another fast fix! Coffee, tea and coca cola all contain caffeine so try alternatives like herbal teas or barley & chicory drinks and don’t forget to drink plenty of water.

5. Avoid or Significantly Reduce Alcohol

Alcohol is both a stimulant and contains lots of sugar. It triggers the release of adrenalin, and produces strong swings in blood sugar levels.  Despite feeling as though it relaxes you initially after a stressful day, ultimately it will disturb your sleep leaving you tired and more likely to reach for coffee or sugary snacks.

6. Develop a Regular Sleep Routine

Human health and proper function are dependent on sufficient sleep and experts suggest we need at least 7-9 hours a night. What’s more, when it comes to maximising health benefits evidence suggests that every hour of sleep before midnight is worth two after midnight. ⁷ Sleep and mental health are closely related so getting a good night’s sleep is one of the best ways to manage stress. If you haven’t slept well, you are less likely to exercise too, so you miss out on additional health benefits. Reading or using electronic equipment in bed is not recommended as it will stimulate the mind and may prevent restful sleep. Try relaxing in a hot bath in the evening with some mineral sea salts added. These salts contain magnesium which may help to relax the muscles, promoting restful sleep.

7. Exercise Daily

There is nothing like a good workout to use up excess stress hormones. Thousands of studies have identified that regular exercise helps combat chronic stress. Regular physical activity not only aids sleep, but also increases the blood circulation for maximised nutrient and oxygen delivery. Additionally, it plays a key role in reducing  levels of the body’s stress hormones adrenalin and cortisol ⁴ as well as preventing the effects of stress by releasing feel good hormones that help to relieve tension and anger. ¹⁰ What’s more, exercise can serve as a valuable distraction to your daily worries helping you to focus on your body rather than your mind.

Exercise doesn’t have to mean joining a gym or taking up jogging there are many straightforward pastimes that are classed as exercise, housework for one, gardening another or taking the dog around the park a few times. Try to find something that fits in to your lifestyle. For exercise to be sustainable you need to love or at least enjoy what you do.

8. Try Yoga

Yoga has been shown to encourage mental and physical relaxation and some of these beneficial effects may be due to yoga’s ability to reduce high blood pressure. ⁸ According to research practising yoga also has the added effect of reducing blood glucose levels, cholesterol levels and body weight.¹¹ Evidence also suggests that yoga breathing can significantly increase GABA levels. ³ As there’s so many different types of yoga, anyone of any age can try it. Plus, attending classes are not essential, so you can practice in the comfort of your own home.

9. Focus on your Breathing

The importance of proper breathing is often overlooked in terms of dealing with stress. Shallow breathing is a typical stress response, which can lead to hyperventilation and prolong feelings of anxiety as well as other symptoms of stress. Like yoga, breathing exercises help you to zone in on the present moment and are a great way to relieve stress and anxiety. There are different breathing techniques to bring about relaxation. In essence, the general aim is to shift from upper chest breathing to abdominal breathing. Deep belly breathing plugs into the autonomic nervous system and encourages it to relax.

To gain the anti-stress benefits, you can practice breathing exercises every day or just at times when you feel overwhelmed. Why not try this simple example. Find a comfortable position either sitting, standing or lying down and follow these steps:

•        First try breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth
•        Breathe deeply into your belly through your nose for a count of three
•        Exhale through your mouth, for another count of three, let it flow out gently
•        Next time try to increase it to four in and out then five and finally six
•        Try to put all thoughts aside and focus on your breath
•        Keep repeating for three to five minutes

10. Develop time management skills

Being more organised allows you to take better control of the way you spend your time and energy so you can cope better with stress. Giving yourself some space to plan your weekly meals also prevents snacking and the tendency to resort to highly processed ready meals. Use a diary and plan the week ahead, making sure you fit in time for friends, family, exercise and treats too.

Supplement Support

Magnesium

Despite your best efforts you may not be getting enough magnesium rich foods into your daily diet. Supplementing can help to bridge the gap, but choose wisely. The bioavailability of magnesium is far superior in a chelated form. Neutrient Magnesium is a great all-rounder supporting a range of bodily functions. It contains four powerful bioactive magnesium chelates with magnesium oxide, delivering enhanced magnesium absorption and effectiveness by utilising multiple cellular uptake pathways. To further support psychological and nervous system function, magnesium L- threonate may be particularly beneficial. Altrient Liposomal Magnesium L-Threonate contains Magtein an innovative form of magnesium that is particularly suited to supporting brain function because of its unique ability to cross the blood brain barrier.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is found in high concentrations in the brain where it is involved in the synthesis of key neurotransmitters. Co factors like vitamin C help to synthesise dopamine from norepinephrine and influence serotonin production, an important mood regulator.⁶Vitamin C is valued for its contribution to cell protection, which also helps to safeguard neurons in the brain from oxidative stress. However, it’s difficult for the body to absorb large amounts of standard vitamin C all at once because of its inability to withstand the digestive processes in the body. Altrient Liposomal Vitamin C has a unique advantage because it utilises cutting-edge liposomal encapsulation technology that protects the nutrients on their journey through the body overcoming cellular barriers to deliver the vitamin C directly into the cells where it is needed most.

B Vitamins

While you’re trying to reign in bad habits and clean up your diet it can help to add an extra layer of anti-stress support by topping up your B vitamin intake. Altrient B liposomal vitamin B and mineral complex, provides a full spectrum of exceptionally well absorbed B vitamins plus additional minerals to support overall good health. Vitamins B1, B2, B6, B12 and niacin have all been shown to contribute to normal functioning of the nervous system and these same vitamins together with folate also contribute to normal psychological function.

About the author: Jacqueline Newson BSc (Hons Nutritional Therapy)

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