Anything that knocks your body out of balance is considered a stressor. When you eat a poor diet that is high in processed foods, sodium, saturated fats, and sugar, you can overload your organ systems (like your liver and kidney) that work to filter out things you don’t need. All of your organ systems work together, so if the liver and kidney cannot efficiently do their job, everything else struggles too.
It is also important to understand that everything you eat sends your body information. Each molecule of food contributes to a unique set of instructions about which hormones to make and release, what proteins are expressed, and if we need genes to turn on or off. If your diet is unbalanced and inconsistent the messages your body receives may be confusing.
With everything in balance, hormonal signaling in your brain and body should be tightly regulated. But if you consistently experience huge swings in your hormone levels in response to the foods you eat, that regulation is thrown off balance. This type of stress is like a leaky faucet dripping into your bucket.
At first, the slow drops aren’t much of a concern and might be easy to ignore, but after a while if the faucet hasn’t been fixed, the accumulation of water can cause significant damage.
Under-eating, especially restricting calories below your basal metabolic rate, will also elevate cortisol levels. When you are not eating enough, your body may not have enough resources to carry on basic functions. This puts your body in a perceived crisis-mode (thinking it is starving). Humans are extremely resilient, so your brain activates a stress response to downregulate metabolism and to keep your body going on adrenaline and cortisol.
Your diet can be your worst enemy or your biggest ally. Again, this is all about awareness. Remember that cortisol causes changes to your appetite by making you more intensely crave carbs and sugar (to quickly replenish energy). But if you don’t really need that energy (because you aren’t fighting a predator), those foods will lead to huge blood sugar spikes and crashes, perpetuating your stressed state. Ugh!
You can, however, acknowledge that your body is trying to protect you and instead provide it with the nutrients to support your organs, gut, and brain health.
Eat Meat, Veggies, Nuts & Seeds, Some Fruit, Little Starch and No Sugar
Eat real food and load up your plate with veggies first. Utilizing the Plate Method is one of the easiest and most effective methods for improving your diet by eating a balanced meal of high-quality whole foods. Eat ½ of your plate of non-starchy veggies first, then eat ¼ of your plate protein, and lastly eat ¼ plate of starch. If you are still hungry go back for more non-starchy veggies.
Eat a high quality whole foods based diet.
When we are stressed our central nervous system releases cortisol. Research has shown that high cortisol levels combined with high sugar consumption may cause fat to be deposited around our internal organs. This is called visceral fat and it is associated with cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Choose high quality whole foods which will provide you with a variety of nutrients and health benefits. Aim to consume a diet full of colorful fruits and veggies daily!
Stay Hydrated
Don’t drink your calories, eat them instead, so stick to drinking water. Drinking sufficient water assists the digestive system in eliminating fats from the body more efficiently. Staying adequately hydrated also decreases appetite. In fact, it is common to mistake thirst for hunger, so if you feel like snacking, try drinking a glass of water first.