We are what we eat

Did you ever stop to taste a carrot? Not just eat it, but taste it? You can't taste the beauty and energy of the earth in a Twinkie. - Astrid Alauda

Allow me to again provide a disclaimer that I am not endorsing food as a coping mechanism.  I presented in an earlier blog about meeting our emotional needs appropriately, and hunger is a physical need--so eating to meet an emotional need makes as much as sense as going to the hardware store to get new underwear.  However, how we eat impacts how we feel, and ultimately that impacts how we respond to stress and triggers. 

We will look at this from both ends--eating and NOT eating. 

How many of you are breakfast skippers?  Or when the day gets too busy, forget to eat?  How does this impact your mood?  I wind up feeling sick of I am hungry and don't eat--and obviously if I'm feeling light-headed or nauseous, I am more likely to respond to stressors negatively.  This also doesn't allow for appropriate nutrition to be provided to our bodies to manage a stress-free day, much less a stressful day.  I know there are emotions that I experience that leave me without an appetite--anger and sadness, primarily.  During those times, I have to be more aware of this and recognize that if I want to return to a state of feeling more even-keel, it is going to come by making positive choices--even if I don't feel like making them.  I will need to eat (and eat  healthily) so I can be in control and return myself to a more desirable emotional state.

We have talked about adrenaline one may experience in respond to stress, but the other hormone we experience is cortisol.  That hormone stimulates hunger and can trick us into thinking we are hungry--even when we are not.  This causes cravings for high carb and fatty foods.  I'm not opposed to a bowl of ice cream or anti-carb--all foods are okay in moderation (THAT, my friends, IS GRAY!).  But as we work to recognize our stress, the trigger of it, and appropriate ways to manage this stress, turning to food is not going to be helpful.

Fatback

The better we treat our bodies up front, the more armed and ready it is to respond to stress.  I can't tell you the number of 400-pound women I have worked with down here who tell me regularly that they can't handle the stress of their child because it could cause a heart attack.  Imagine the self-restraint I use when I say, "I'm more concerned about the fried chicken, fat back (for those who are NOT from the South--this is a typical Southern food that is the actual fat off the back of a pig--typically cut into strips like bacon, then fried & salted...about 400 calories per 4 inch slice...), and greens you're making in CRISCO...."  They are absolutely correct, though--their bodies cannot handle anymore stress than the stress they are already putting on it.  However, you could also be a perfectly physically healthy 120 woman and eat unhealthily, and as a result, your body isn't as prepared for stress as it could be.  There are foods you can actually eat that will improve your responses to stress, as indicated in this website which discusses how potassium helps to regulate blood pressure, omega-3 fatty acids help to improve mood, folic acid helps to reduce stress, black tea can slow the production of cortisol, and complex carbs/whole grains help to increase production of seratonin. 

So arming ourselves for the day by eating healthily regularly is a good preventative way to assist in our responses to stress; and being mindful of how/what/if we are eating in response to stress can help us to navigate through the stress when it appears.  It makes sense, right--have you ever polished off a bag of chips or a candy bar and thought, "I feel so much better right now?"  Hmm...not so much.....