What's The Deal With Stress?

𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬. ⁣

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⁣Stress here…⁣

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Stress there…⁣

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Stress everywhere.⁣

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𝗟𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗯𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁: We can all agree that 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 is something that affects each and everyone one of us. There is no running from that truth.⁣

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Job, personal life, relationships, the weather, the economy, etc., can all induce a 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞 in our minds and bodies, whether we know it or not.⁣

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In fact, 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀. We may not be going through something stressful, per se; but our body can still be stuck in this default mode because that is all it is used to and all that it knows. ⁣

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Why?⁣

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Because 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲-𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗺 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻. It is seldom given an opportunity to release tension via breathing, meditation, a walk, yoga, mindfulness, journaling, etc.⁣

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𝗪𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗚𝗢𝗜𝗡𝗚. ⁣

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We may be finding it hard to stop, feeling weird when we don’t think about work or even feeling 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤. Constantly doing and feeling bad and beating ourselves up for "not doing". This just perpetuates this never-ending cycle which some may call 𝒄𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒄 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔. ⁣

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When we live in this 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 (aka. 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵-𝘰𝘳-𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 mode), 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘭, the stress hormone, is released - negatively affecting our bodies both physiologically and psychologically. This leads to things like 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧, 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬, 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐬, and 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 among a few.⁣

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Oh AND!⁣

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You don’t necessarily have to experience these more noticeable, ‘common’ symptoms and signs of stress for it to negatively affect your health. ⁣

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There are also more “𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭” ways our bodies and minds tell us they are feeling fatigued and stressed.⁣

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‘𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘁𝗹𝗲’ 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁-𝗼𝗿-𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲:⁣

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 𝘫𝘢𝘸 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘯𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨⁣

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 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘴⁣

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 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚 𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕⁣

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 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆, 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺, 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨⁣

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 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴⁣

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 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘦⁣

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 𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯⁣

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 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏⁣

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 𝙎𝙤 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙢 𝙄 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨?⁣

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Although there is no way to escape “IT”, there IS a way to manage it. 𝐀 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐬 𝐮𝐬 𝐃𝐎𝐄𝐒 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭 and today, I wanna talk about one of the first steps in getting to this more relaxed state.⁣

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I wanna talk about 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬. You will be amazed at all the wonders food can do to our nervous system. ⁣

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Let's BEGIN! ⁣

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𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 (𝗶.𝗲. 𝗮𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗴𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀) 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀:⁣

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𝐕𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧 𝐂: ⁣

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Vitamin C can 𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬-𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐥 release and induce 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞.⁣

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𝑩𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒔: citrus, bell peppers, strawberries, acerola cherries, papaya, guavas, parsley, kiwi, cruciferous veggies (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts).⁣

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𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐮𝐦: ⁣

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I made a separate post on the benefits and importance of magnesium but it is worth mentioning again its essential role in calming our nervous system (i.e. reducing cortisol).⁣

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Magnesium is a 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢-𝐚𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 mineral our bodies cannot live without. Magnesium controls the release of cortisol, dialing it up and down as needed. ⁣

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𝑩𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒔: dark leafy greens, avocado, bananas, chocolate, nuts and seeds, legumes (beans and lentils).⁣

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𝐋-𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐞: ⁣

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L-theanine, which is a naturally occurring amino acid (non-protein, though), can 𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞 and also boost levels of 𝘎𝘈𝘉𝘈, a neurotransmitter that promotes relaxation and sleep.⁣

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𝑩𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒔: black, green, white, oolong teas abs some mushrooms.⁣

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𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬: ⁣

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Yes, I will once again say: 𝑭𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏! ⁣

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𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘣𝘪𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 are foods that contain 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 that feed the “good” bacteria in our gut. The ingestion of prebiotic fibers 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞 and reduces cortisol levels.⁣

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𝑩𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒔: apples, bananas, garlic, oats, artichokes, asparagus, onions, chocolate.⁣

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𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐥𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞: ⁣

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Phosphatidglserine is a fat that naturally occurs in high concentrations in the brain and nervous system. It reduces the effects of both physical and mental stress by keeping cortisol levels down.⁣

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𝑩𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒔: organ meats, egg yolks, fish, white beans.⁣

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𝐁 𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐬: ⁣

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B vitamins, especially B1 (𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦), B5 (𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘥), and B12, all directly affect the adrenal glands’ response to stress. Enough B vitamins, slower/less cortisol release. Not enough…more/faster cortisol release.⁣

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𝑩𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒔: meat (especially liver), seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy, legumes, leafy greens.⁣

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And before you go…⁣

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𝐀 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞-𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐩:⁣

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When stressed, try saying “𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥” instead of “𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥.”⁣

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The former identifies stress as a per