How Food Can Make You Feel Stressed!

What we choose to eat everyday has a huge impact on our mental health and feelings of stress, anxiety or calm.

Foods create changes in your body through their effect on neurotransmitters, hormones and your nervous system. They also influence your gut bacteria and digestive health which is the BASIS of health and has a huge influence on your mental health. Your digestive tract is known as your second brain and there’s much research on the gut-brain link.

If you experience any mental health concerns or feel more stressed or anxious - take a good look at your diet and daily food choices. Of course there are other factors to consider but our diets are our DAILY companion and provide our body with the nutrients it needs for optimal mental and physical health. Without the right nutrition your body is unable to produce the hormones and neurotransmitters that orchestrate your mood and influence how calm you feel.

If your diet is high in refined carbohydrates, flours, sugars and caffeine this will have a stimulating effect but not in a sustained way - you’ll experience highs and lows as your body tries to deal with these short term stimulants. These foods can cause stress in your body as it tries to balance your blood sugar and cortisol. These foods are also more inflammatory as we are not designed to consume a lot of these foods or stimulants.

While some carbohydrates are great, focus on getting them from fresh vegetables and some whole grains depending on what you feel best on. Reducing carbohydrates too low, such as on a keto diet, may not be ideal for everyone especially long term and for womens hormone balance - so always take notice of how you feel and work out the best amount for you. Most people following a standard western diet are commonly eating too many refined carbohydrates and not enough quality fats.

Including adequate quality protein and fat has a more grounding and calming effect - and doesn’t cause spikes in blood sugar or cortisol. These foods help to produce hormones and neurotransmitters and help keep your energy and mood more stable. They also keep you full for longer and help in weight loss and weight management.

Most women do best on 50-100g protein per day but experiment to find out what you feel best on. Choose the best quality protein and fat you can - see this handy food guide for more info.

While fats have received bad press they are essential for mood and every cell in your body! The right fats can support optimal mental health, energy and weight regulation. You can find a 1 page guide here.

Focus on including some fat, protein and vegetables at each meal to help keep you calm and support your mood and nervous system.

Another way food can increase stress is by contributing to eating disorders. Food should be nourishing and enjoyable - practice changing your mindset toward food and removing guilt around food choices - just do the best you can with where you’re at. It’s what you do most of the time that counts so don’t beat yourself up for not being ‘perfect’ all the time! Focus on quality over quantity. Choose 1 thing to improve at a time rather than overwhelming yourself - make it simple, enjoyable and achievable! Practice self kindness.

I have been through a lot of different ways of eating but am learning to listen to what makes me feel good and not worry about sticking to a ‘label’ or ‘diet’ that doesn’t make me feel great! We all have individual biochemistry that determines what we feel best on - so what works for your friend may not be the best thing for you! And our needs can change over our lifetime - so just keep listening to the clues your body gives you. Practicing self-kindness has also made a huge difference to my relationship and enjoyment of food. Any change can take time to become a habit - so give yourself time to make improvements and different food choices.

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Marion McConnell is a degree qualified Naturopath who helps women balance their hormones, reduce symptoms and get their life back!  Consultations are available online.  You can find out more here.

Three Simple Effective Tactics To Reduce Stress!

While stress is helpful in small amounts many of us are living in a constantly stressed out state!  This nervous system overdrive can cause a huge array of health issues and contribute to hormonal imbalances, fatigue, weight issues, digestive issues, anxiety and depression.  These three tactics can be practiced in your daily life and are amazing at helping to reduce stress, anxiety and overwhelm.

DEEP SLOW BREATHING

The simple act of breathing has a huge impact on our stress response and level of calmness.  When we are stressed or anxious we are more likely to take shallow breaths or even hold our breath for periods of time.  Our breath is connected to our nervous system and by modifying your breathing you can modify your stress response.  

By taking deeper slower breaths into your lungs and belly, and slowly exhaling you can immediately reduce your feelings of stress.  Close your eyes and count to four as you breath in and four as you breath out - do this for a minute and take notice of the calming effects!  Placing one hand on your chest and one on your belly - feel your hands rise as you breath into your lungs and belly.

The gentle slow movement of your breath causes your diaphragm to contract and release slowly - and this signals to your body that it is safe and can relax.  This in turn reduces the physical and emotional symptoms of stress which are triggered by the stress hormone cortisol, such as increased heart rate, muscle tension and a blank or frantic mind.

This type of breathing has been shown to reduce cortisol levels as well as improve focus and attention.  Slow deep breathing maximises blood oxygen which travels to all your body cells and allows them to function optimally.  

Practicing this simple and free technique for just a few minutes per day can have huge improvements on your experience of stress and overwhelm.  You can also practice anytime of day when you become aware of stressful feelings.

MINDFULNESS

Mindfulness can also be practiced anywhere and involves bringing your senses to the present moment - what can you hear, taste, smell, feel or see?

Many times when we are stressed or anxious our minds are worrying about things in the future and often imagine the worst!  Many of these things we worry about never happen or aren't as bad as we imagined them - so we are causing ourselves a lot of unnecessary stress by letting our minds wander uncontrollably!  

A lot of times we can also be on auto-pilot, just going through the day without being fully present or totally aware of our surroundings - this can cause us to just let our lives pass by without fully experiencing them!  As it's all these small moments that make up our lives!  We can also gain so much more from our days if we practice being more present with people and our surroundings. 

Mindfulness can be practiced while carrying out any of your daily activities such as while commuting, walking, showering, cleaning, talking with others and eating.  Set a reminder to check in on your thoughts during the day - don't beat yourself up if they are far away in the future or past, just bring your attention back to the present.  The more you become aware of your thoughts and bring them back to the present, the easier and more automatic this will become.  Notice how focusing on the present can reduce your stress and anxieties about the future and help you to feel calmer in the moment.

MUSIC

Relaxing music is another great tool to help reduce stress - music has been shown to reduce cortisol and promote relaxation.   Listening to music while commuting or at home can be a simple way to help soothe your nervous system, and can be especially helpful at night to help promote sleep.  

There's also some great guided meditations that use calming music - these can be used to help with stress, anxiety, fears and worries.

One of my favourite practices is yoga as it can involve all three of these techniques - along with the stress reducing and mood enhancing effects of moving your body.  I'd love to hear how you practice these techniques, or other ways you manage or reduce stress in your life?

Like any new habit these practices can take some time and commitment until they become more automatic - it can be helpful to set reminders in your phone and schedule them into your calender until then!

Marion McConnell is a degree qualified Naturopath who helps women with stress, hormone imbalances, anxiety and fatigue.  The clinic is located in New Farm Brisbane, and consultations are also available via Skype.  You can contact Marion here.

Trouble Losing Weight?

Are you trying all you know to lose weight without results?

This can be a frustratingly common experience for women and may be caused by a number of imbalances in the body.  Here are the top 5 imbalances I see in clinic which prevent weight loss -

UNDER-ACTIVE THYROID

Yes you could have an under-active thyroid even if your blood tests are 'fine'.  We can test your 3 thyroid hormones and make sure your levels are optimal - not just within range.  Due to Medicare restrictions, GP's normally only test 1 thyroid hormone (TSH), but this alone can't give you a clear picture of thyroid function.  Checking your T4 and T3 will show if you are producing and converting enough thyroid hormones to support healthy metabolism.  Other symptoms of an under-active thyroid include fatigue, brain fog, low mood, constipation, hair loss and dry skin.

HIGH CORTISOL

When you are in an ongoing state of stress, as many women are, you produce more cortisol.  Some cortisol is a good thing, but constant cortisol day after day impairs your metabolism, as your body wants to conserve body stores to deal with the perceived threat.  Cortisol can contribute to more weight around the middle.  Helping to calm your nervous system and reduce cortisol is one of the most important things you can do for your weight and overall health, as excess cortisol has damaging effects all over your body, and can particularly impact other hormone levels.  Ensuring quality sleep is super important for giving your nervous system a chance to rest and recover each day, along with working on other daily stress management - gentle to moderate exercise, spending time in nature, meditation, music or anything that helps you feel calm.

PROGESTERONE AND ESTROGEN IMBALANCE

This imbalance can develop over time from multiple factors including the pill, stress, chemicals and a low fat diet.  Increased weight on the upper arms, chest, hips and thighs is more common with this imbalance.  Many other symptoms can indicate this type of imbalance such as painful or heavy periods, irregular periods, infertility, fibroids, fluid retention, anxiety and moodiness.  A saliva hormone test is a great way to assess your levels and work on restoring balance.

NOT ENOUGH CALORIES OR AN IMBALANCED DIET

A low calorie or low fat diet will encourage your body to hold onto weight as it perceives a shortage of food and nourishment.  Consuming enough protein and healthy fats will keep your blood sugar and energy more stable, keep you full for longer, support hormone production and support weight regulation.  

Too many refined grains and sugars in the diet will contribute to increased insulin - another hormone which can impact weight regulation.  

Focus on 2-3 serves of protein, quality fats and a variety of vegetables as the main components of your diet.  Moderate amounts of whole grains can be beneficial - take notice of how these make you feel to work out the amount that's right for you.  However we don't need 9-11 serves as some dietary guidelines suggest!  

I encourage you to not count calories - just focus on eating whole foods and count nutrients if anything!

POOR GUT HEALTH, LIVER TOXICITY AND INFLAMMATION

Our gut bacteria play a huge role in our health including weight regulation.  We are actually around 10 times more bacteria than human cells and the essential role they play in our health continues to be discovered.  Our bacteria balance is impacted every day from antibiotics, reflux medication, pain medication, processed foods, sugar, alcohol, stress and chemicals including chlorine in tap water.  Probiotics and fermented vegetables can be a great way to support your gut bacteria - however if these cause issues you may have a bacterial overgrowth that needs to be treated first.

Similar influences that impact our bacteria balance can also impact our liver function and levels of inflammation in our body which can also inhibit weight loss.  Underlying inflammation is now being linked to many symptoms and disease states including depression, dementia, obesity, diabetes and auto-immune conditions.

For easy weight regulation our body needs to be in a happy balance - particularly our nervous system, digestion and hormones.  If weight loss is a struggle for you, I'd love to help you work out any underlying reasons and help you reach your ideal weight.

Marion McConnell is a degree qualified Naturopath who helps women with stress, hormone imbalances, anxiety and fatigue.  The clinic is located in New Farm Brisbane, and consultations are also available via Skype.  You can contact Marion here.