Download Stress and Nutrition

Stress and Nutrition
Effects of stress on our eating
habits!
Do you find yourself:
• Eating food high in fat, sugar and salt when you
are stressed?
• Drinking too much coffee or too many soft
drinks?
• Skipping meals or not eating enough?
• Mindlessly eating when you are not hungry?
• Eating fast food on the go?
• Trying dangerous fad diets to make up for poor
eating habits?
• If do you could be prone to emotional eating?
Stress can lead to:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Headaches
Backaches
Insomnia
Irritability
Weakened Immune System
Risk for hypertension of high blood
pressure
Stress and Nutrition
• Stress has two effects on eating:
1. Moderate stress can cause
people to engage in emotional
eating
2. Severe stress can cause the
appetite to shut down
Healthy eating is so important during
stressful times.
Unhealthy Habits due to stress can
lead to:
• Blood sugar imbalances caused by not eating
enough food or too many carbohydrates and not
enough protein can lead to blood sugar
fluctuations which cause mood swings, fatigue,
poor concentration and health problems
• Caffeine side effects: too much caffeine can
lead to poor concentration and sleep
disturbances
• Poor nutrition can lead to lowered immunity.
Some studies show a correlation
between stress and
• Reducing nutrient absorption
• Increasing nutrient excretion
• Altering use of nutrients
Four neurotransmitters in the brain:
•
•
•
•
•
Serotonin
Dopamine
Norepinephrine
Acetylcholine
The levels and activity of these
compounds are sensitive to dietary
composition and pattern
Serotonin
• Low serotonin causes food cravings
• Manufacturing of serotonin is food dependent
• Manufactured in brain from amino acid (chains
of these make up proteins) tryptophan
• High protein lowers tryptophan and
carbohydrate rich foods increase trytophan
• Tryptophan is converted to serotonin which
produces an overall calming effect and
drowsiness
Dopamine and Norepinephrine
• Manufactured from the amino acid tyrosine
• Low levels associated with depression and
inability to deal with stress
• For these neurotransmitters to be high,
serotonin must be low
Acetylcholine
• Associated with memory and cognitive
ability
• Produced by food
To Eat or Not to Eat
• During stress some people eat more, others eat
less and still others turn to drugs and alcohol.
• All of the above can lead to imbalance of
neurotransmitters resulting in a body and mind
that functions poorly
• Coping with stress by consuming fewer calories
leads to lowered thinking ability
• Overeating can cause drowsiness and impeded
nutrient transport into the brain.
Some studies show that:
• Stress affects our absorption of certain
vitamins and minerals
• Magnesium is particularly susceptible to
loss during stress and low levels of this
mineral is shown to lead to stress-related
depression and irritability.
• Mild deficiencies of niacin can lead to
depression
Research shows eating patterns
can be altered by stress:
• In one study 67% showed a change in appetite during
stress and of those, the majority experienced an
increase in appetite.
• In this same study males were less likely to report a
change in appetite due to stress than females
• In another study of adolescents, it was found that greater
stress led to fatty food increase and decrease of fruits
and vegetables, as well as more snacking and less
chance of eating breakfast
• In a study that focused on college students eating habits
and stress, the majority of students reported overeating
with stress
What can you do?
• Use stress coping exercises
• Reduce stress
• Keep a food log noting food ate and
reason for eating the food to determine if
your food habits are linked to levels of
stress and changes in emotions