Our nutritionist advises on healthy stress management

Life is a series of peaks and troughs, and it’s important to note that taking the good with the bad is all a part of the journey, but one thing that many people can potentially avoid is unnecessary stress. According to the?Mental Health Foundation, stress is the feeling of being overwhelmed or the inability to cope with mental or emotional pressure.

In aid of?Stress Awareness month,?our registered consultant nutritionist, Shona Wilkinson, explains how the right nutrition and a healthy routine can be the secret weapon to combat it.

Stress can often help us deal with everyday problems, keeping us on high alert to dealing with everyday challenges and assisting us with acting fast at a moment’s notice. In fact, in small doses stress is actually healthy for the brain.?

In recent years though, the rate of self-reported work-related stress has increased and with the added impact of other health concerns, lockdowns, and limitations to travel - not to mention world politics - many people claim to be suffering from longer-lasting stress symptoms.?

So, what happens when you experience high amounts of stress for long periods of time, with months going by without taking time out to rejuvenate and relax?

Well, it can impact both our mental and physical function including lack of productivity and a reduction in problem-solving skills, increased chances of headaches and dizziness, as well as muscular tension and stress leading to insomnia. In more extreme circumstances, it can lead to depression, high blood-pressure and raises the chances of a heart-attack.?

It can portray in a variety of ways, with those suffering less likely to exercise and more likely to undereat or overeat, often referred to as ‘emotional eating’ which can increase our intake of bad foods such as sugar and fats, possibly causing a number of further issues such as digestive problems, obesity and diabetes.?

Dealing with stress is largely about mindset and turning the coping mechanism from a negative one into a positive one. If you get into a negative cycle of eating a poor diet, sleeping in, or overworking then the stress continues to grow.?

There are many stress management strategies that you can explore to help impart a positive mindset and allow you to feel revitalised:

·???????Get regular physical activity and get out in nature

·???????Practice relaxation techniques: such as deep breathing, meditation, or yoga

·???????Spend time with family and friends

·???????Keep to a balanced diet filled with brain-boosting vitamins

·???????Setting aside time for hobbies including; reading a book or listening to music

Getting a balanced diet

It’s important that your diet is comprised of multiple vitamins and nutrients. Here are just a few that are beneficial for reduced stress levels:

·???????B Vitamins

·???????Magnesium

·???????Vitamin C

·???????Vitamin D

·???????Omega-3

B vitamins are depleted during times of stress so it may be beneficial to get these in your diet or via?supplementation.?They?help the body convert food into energy and create new blood cells and maintain healthy skin and brain cells.?

Magnesium is known as a ‘natures relaxant’,?assisting with the physical signs of stress it can ease the cramping of muscles and?increases Gamma-aminobutyric acid?(GABA) a chemical made in the brain, which encourages relaxation as well as sleep. Vegetables such as broccoli include magnesium, vitamin C, and folate – all proven vitamins to help beat stress.

Sweet potatoes are an excellent carb choice that helps lower the levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Packed with nutrients important for the stress response, sweet potatoes include vitamin C and potassium.?

Packed with vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and antioxidants needed for a healthy stress response, eggs are often referred to as nature’s multivitamin. Also rich in choline, this nutrient plays an important role in brain health and can boost our mood.?

Foods rich in Omega-3 and vitamin D such as fatty fish are also beneficial to our mood and brain function as our brain is mostly made up of fat. Vitamin D helps our mental health and can reduce stress levels.

Almost anyone and everyone can suffer from stress, so it’s important that we can recognise the signs among each demographic:

???Children & Teens

Adults are often more able to recognise why they are stressed and have the ability to put things in place to avoid or combat it. Children, unfortunately, do not yet have this skill.?

Most of the time, children undergo stress due to external factors such as?academics, falling out with friends, and even not meeting their parents' expectations.?In teenagers, this problem becomes much worse. With consistent access to social media, there is more peer pressure, cyber-bullying, body image issues, relationship issues, and identity formation at play.??

A common problem experienced in young people is the inability to differentiate between stress and generalised anxiety. This is a problem as young people are mistaking normal feelings of stress with an undiagnosed medical condition. This is why?education on stress?is so important.?

?Young Adults?

Young adults and university students are often under stress because of dramatic changes in lifestyle that accompany the coming of age.?From getting a higher education to planning their first job, while an exciting time, it is often mounted with anxiety and overwhelming feelings with such intense change to lifestyle.

?The working class

For the working class (21-60), their reasons for stress can vary often. Loss in business, time-management issues, workload and duration, low salary, partiality and discrimination, and lack of recognition or appreciation from seniors can all affect an individual in a work capacity. Between the ages of 21 and 60, people may also experience the bulk of grief as they begin the natural process of losing friends and eventually, parents.?

The elderly?

A deeply troubling fact of life is that the elderly are often forgotten about when it comes to stress. Stress is common for those in their later years. There are a whole host of reasons why the elderly can become easily stressed.

·???????Change of lifestyle?

·???????Financial status after retiring

·???????Being lonely after losing a spouse?

·???????Losing friends/relative?

·???????Worries about not being able to live independently

It is incredibly important to note that if you’re struggling with stress regularly, you should seek help from a medical professional. As stated previously, a little bit of stress is fine, but if it is impacting your life regularly, it may require help from an external source.