CHRONIC STRESS and INFLAMMATION

Ahhh! Life in the 21st century! Shouldn’t it be a piece of cake? We have many conveniences that were not afforded to our ancestors, but yet, we struggle with ever-increasing demands on our time and energy. What is that “overwhelmed” or “stressed-out” feeling doing to our bodies and what can we do about it?

Our bodies are equip to deal with stress, but are not able to differentiate emotional stress from physical stress. Basically, any increase in stress elicits the same response. Our brain perceives a threat, which results in a release of hormones that stimulate the adrenal glands to pump out other hormones including cortisol (also known as the “stress hormone”), which have the following effects:

1. Increasing our blood sugar levels.

2. Putting our autonomic nervous system into “sympathetic mode” which has the effect of shunting blood away from our digestive organs and directing blood to our heart and muscles.

3. Temporarily “down-regulating” our immune system so that all of our resources are available until the threat is gone.

Back in the day when we were hunting tigers, this was very handy because it gave our bodies the instantaneous fuel we needed to run away if necessary.

These days, this is less desirable since most of us do not have to run from the tiger. To make matters worse, we are often not in a situation where we can do something to mitigate the effects of that “instantaneous fuel” that is circulating in our blood stream.

What happens to us if we keep mounting a stress response without “burning it off” so to speak? In a nutshell, we wreak havoc on our bodies. The increase in blood sugar causes an increase in inflammation. (For more on how this happens, see this post). In order to reduce inflammation, your autonomic nervous system needs to get into the “parasympathetic mode” which as been coined the “rest and repair” mode. Remember how stress causes us to remain in the sympathetic mode? No rest and repair here!! This is the "go-go-go" mode.

To make matters worse, our immune system has been turned down which makes us vulnerable to opportunistic bugs (think of those nasty flu viruses), flare-ups of on-going issues (think of aches and pains that seem to get worse for no good reason), and skin eruptions (think of those ugly pimples that crop up at the most inopportune times!) to name a few.

So what is a reasonable person supposed to do when faced with stress in their lives? Well, having some good coping mechanisms in place is a great idea. Short exercise routines, daily yoga and/or meditation practice, enjoyable hobbies that can take your mind off of the stressful situations that you are dealing with are a good start.

Nurturing yourself through DIET can also be extremely beneficial in helping you to mitigate the effects of stressful times.

Put an emphasis on eating lots of veggies (both raw and cooked), clean protein sources such as pastured poultry and eggs, wild caught fish, grass-fed beef, or lamb. Cutting out processed sugar will help decrease your inflammation levels. (More info here) Oh dear! I can hear you now…. “I grab the chocolate and ice cream when I get stressed”. Unfortunately, this can make matters worse because eating sugar will also raise your blood sugar levels. This will have a similar effect to the release of cortisol. You are just feeding the vicious cycle! Understanding how diet effects inflammation is important for buying into this truth.

Instead of reaching for the Ring Dings, chips, and ice cream, try this recipe for “Stewed Apples”. It tastes great, is good for you and will curb your need for "comfort food"!

I like to add a tablespoon of organic coconut milk, whole milk yogurt or cream on top. Small amounts of healthy fats can work to decrease the rise in blood sugar that occurs after eating carbohydrates (even healthy ones like this stewed apple recipe). It also makes the recipe taste great and will satisfy your hunger.

I want to thank my beautiful daughter for sharing her favorite stress coping mechanisms in her Tailored and True Blog post and giving me the perfect opportunity to talk about why it is worth managing your stress from a number of different angles! Wishing you all the best!