What to eat when you’re stressed
Have you ever wondered - why is it that your body craves “bad” food when you’ve had a stressful day? Or why is it that healthy eating seems so unappealing when we are in high states of emotion? Maybe you have told yourself you have no self control and that you have bad eating habits - but what if I told you that there was scientific reasons to explain why we all behave like this? Let’s delve deeper…
Why is emotional eating a thing?
You may be familiar with the “fight or flight” response system. Where your body reacts in certain ways to triggers. This is an age old system that has helped us run away from predators and find safety. Unfortuantely for us in the modern day, this system cannot tell the difference between an angry bear chasing us and the stress of being late for work. Both scenarios cause our bodies stress, and the brain automatically switches to fight or flight to protect us from the “danger”. Of course we understand that the bear chasing us is a more life threatening scenario, and these serious threats are not so common to us in our society anymore. But the rule still applies: Brain senses danger - so brain reacts to said danger - and puts us into a state of stress.
How does this tie into our eating? As mentioned before, our lives are never really under serious threat like they were in the caveman days. So with all this excess cortisol flowing through our body, instead of running away from the predator, we look for safety. And by safety, I mean that good old trusted Domino’s Pizza.
The fight or flight response prepares our body for survival, so naturally, we crave more food. Even though our immediate livelihood is not under attack, we still find a sense of comfort through eating. Bringing those stress levels back down and temporarily subsiding them. BUT - this short term pleasure can equal long term pain. As this cycle of eating becomes unbreakable, we can develop harmful patterns such as binging, which we know are detrimental to our mental and physical wellbeing.
So what should I be eating?
Full disclaimer here - I am NOT saying that enjoying sugary or processed foods when you are really stressed is 100% a bad thing. Life can hit us hard, and we should allow ourselves to feel pleasure when at the low points. This article’s main purpose is to educate why we eat when stressed, and if we really want to help ourselves during this time, what would be the best things to eat instead.
The main priority should be fuelling your body with nutrient rich foods, this is not necessarily for just physcial benefits, but for optimal brain health as well. And with any food you choose to eat when stressed, (even if it is not so nutrient dense) we should be eating it MINDFULLY. Take time out to cook and eat the meal with little distraction, be grateful for what it does to your body and how it makes you feel. This will help you come out of the fight or flight state more than the actual food you are eating.
Some food groups to prioritise when stressed:
Magnesium rich foods (Dark chocolate, nuts and seeds, dark leafy greens)
Healthy fats (Avocados, olive oil, fatty fish)
Protien (Beans and legumes, red meat, poultry)
Complex carbs (Sweet potatoes, sourdough, oats)
Herbs/Adaptogens (Ashwaganda, chamomile, turmeric)
Hydration (Electrolytes, Kombucha)
All of these food groups help to restore blood sugar balance (which often becomes imbalanced when stressed), and boost serotonin levels (the happy hormone).
Hope this post helps!🩷
