Get your stress under control to help your diet.

Do you remember the last time you lay awake in the bed bombarded with worries about money, work, the economy, family responsibilities or personal health issues? Considering the amount of stress most of us are dealing with today, it may have been just last night (or almost every night).

Sleep isn’t the only thing you lose when dealing with substantial stress. It can also very likely affect your health, causing hypertension (high blood pressure), obesity, heart issues and even vulnerability to addictions (and not just food addiction). Indeed, stress affects your body, mood and behaviour.

Common symptoms reported include:

• BODY: headache, sleep problems, muscle tension, fatigue, stomach upset, change in sex drive, brain fog, chest pain and high blood pressure.

• MOOD: anxiety, depression and sadness, restlessness, irritability or anger, lack of motivation or focus, and feelings of being overwhelmed.

• BEHAVIOR: overeating or undereating, less exercise, angry outbursts, social withdrawal, drug or alcohol abuse, and smoking.

While there are countless recommendations how to manage physical or mental pressure, such as regular activity, a sense of humour, relaxation techniques, socializing and hobbies, today I would like to focus on one particular issue, and that is my believe that a main strategy in stress management revolves around diet.

How Stress Affects Diet

Appetite

I think we’ve all been there. You’re stressed out, you check out the content of the fridge or you stop at the fast food restaurant, and you start eating … and eating … and suddenly you realize you need to stop! Stress eating is a common impulse, and it often involves rubbish food. (STRESSED is DESSERTS spelled backwards after all!)