How to manage the impact of stress with your nutrition! Stress is a normal part of life and our body’s reaction can be through physical, mental and/or emotional changes. Stress has many causes, and it creeps into our lives from many directions including our work. However, our reactions and its impact will differ based on our genetics, our own circumstances, our environment, and life experiences.
It's hard to imagine that we spend one-third of our life sleeping and that it's as essential to our life as eating, drinking and breathing are. It’s often one of the lifestyle recommendations we are asked to consider. Mainly because most of us for one reason or another, are not getting enough of it! Indeed a lack of sleep can lead to health problems. We need sleep for the brain and body to rest, recharge and do much-needed repair. Chronic lack of sleep can increase the risk of high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and depression (1). Research also shows that reduced sleep impacts our food intake, which may explain why many of us crave more caffeine and fatty, sweet, and salty foods!
How many of us have tried (maybe even several times) to eat healthy at the start of a new week or month, only to get a few days in and find its not sustainable! Making smaller changes in our diet, allowing a nudge towards a modification in our behaviour, is often easier to do consistently and can in the longer-term give better results. However, here are many reasons why even making smaller changes can be difficult. From the constant marketing of foods that are nutrient poor, to the challenge of restricting certain foods to then craving them even more and in some cases overeating. To the fact that we are all individuals, and our needs are not the same as others, due to our gender, genetics, metabolism and lifestyle to name a few. So here are a few areas to consider, so that you can start to make smaller changes in your diet towards a healthier lifespan.
It's January and for many it’s a new beginning of what we will do differently and better this year. It’s also when the reality sinks in of Christmas overspending and the challenge of how we get to pay day at the end of January. No matter what your situation, most of us will feel some level of need to cut back this month. However how we eat does not have to be one of them and indeed eating well on a budget can be done!
I know it feels early to be mentioning Christmas for us too. However we feel it's a good time to bring up this conversation about food while you have the time to contemplate it. Many celebrations involve food and for some, it can send us into an anxious spin about holiday weight gain and un-doing any good 'work' they've put into their diet at this point.
As we come into the winter season, people start to look at ways to “boost” their immune system to guard against colds and flus! The idea that you can boost your immune system is tempting but the immune system is a complex system and there is no single food group or means that can boost your immunity!
Do you find that in times of stress, your diet is one of the first things to suffer! Contrary to what we might think, stress is normal and so is our body’s psychological and physical reaction to it! Indeed, research shows us that a small amount of stress can be good for us and gets us motivated to get stuff done. It improves memory, is beneficial to performance and motivation, and activates the immune system.
Many of us spend much time trying to rid stress from our lives, with little success. The honest truth is that most of us thrive on a little stress in our lives. It’s what keeps us going, striving for achievements. So consider this as a possibility - if we worked on embracing stress as a part of normal life but learned to manage our response to our stressors better?
Moving through the first week of January and into a new year, all of the conversation is around resolutions, how and why to make them and why we mostly fail! We talked previously about how to make your self-talk positive and supportive of your eating pattern and health.
Moving through the first week of January and into a new year, all of the conversation is around resolutions, how and why to make them and why we mostly fail! We talked previously about how to make your self-talk positive and supportive of your eating pattern and health.