Stress is a normal part of life, yet it can sometimes feel overwhelming. While you might not be able to rid yourself of stress (nor should that be a goal), you can build strategies to optimize your stress so it helps you instead of harms you. You might have already acquired some tools to help with stress, such as better time management practices, deep-breathing techniques, or regular journaling. But did you know that your diet can also be another stress management tool?
Understanding the different types of stress
To understand how diet and stress are related, first you need to understand stress. “Stress” is a general term to define a feeling of mental or physical tension. But, stress can vary based on the type, duration, and its overall effects. Stress can be physiological (physically challenging) or psychological (mentally challenging). Stress can be acute (short-term) or chronic (long-term). And while many people think of stress as only harmful, everyone experiences stress differently. Sometimes stress can make you feel overwhelmed and have negative effects (distress). Other times, stress can lead to personal growth, adaptation, and beneficial effects (eustress).
A good example of this relates to physical fitness. A certain amount of physical stress, such as lifting heavy weights, leads to muscle adaptation and growth (eustress). But too much physical stress, such as lifting too heavy or doing too much without resting, can lead to poor muscle recovery and increases your risk for overtraining injuries (distress).
How can you tell if you’re stressed?
When your mind or body senses a stressor, it initiates a “stress response,” more commonly known as “fight or flight.” The activation of your stress response leads to a release of hormones that help you prepare to handle the stressor. In other words, they send signals to your body to prepare it to either fight or run from the perceived threat (the stressor). These chemical messengers create changes that often show up as signs or symptoms of stress. Your heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing speed up, and your body mobilizes energy resources so your muscles and brain have the fuel (glucose) to act quickly. So, your stress can be gauged by these chemical messengers, your signs or symptoms, or your perceptions of stress.
- Psychological markers of stress are changes to your mental or emotional wellbeing, such as your perceived stress, fatigue, and depression.
- Physiological markers of stress are changes in your physical symptoms, such as your heart rate variability, blood pressure, or blood sugar.
- Biochemical markers of stress are changes in the markers related to stress and inflammation, such as cortisol, norepinephrine, epinephrine, and C-reactive protein.
The relationship between diet and stress
The relationship between diet and stress is “bidirectional.” This means that stress can affect your eating and nutrient needs, and your diet can affect your body’s ability to respond to and handle stress.
How stress affects food
Stress can greatly affect your food behaviors. Individual responses to stress can vary, but losing your appetite during acutely stressful situations is common. However, chronic exposure to stress can have the opposite effect. If you’re chronically stressed, you’re more likely to overeat and have less control over your cravings. You're also more likely to reach for “comfort foods.” Comfort foods are very often high in saturated fats and added sugars. Combine this with the poor blood sugar control that can come with chronic stress, and your risks for negative health outcomes skyrocket. Occasionally eating comfort foods usually isn’t a problem. But when you frequently use comfort foods to manage your stress, you’re increasing your risk for obesity, high blood pressure, type II diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, and these can all add to your stress.
Stress can also affect your nutrient needs. Stress can increase demands on your body, raising your calorie needs and increasing your body’s use or loss of certain nutrients. This means you might need to consume more nutrients to get the same benefits as your normal intake. Ironically, when you're stressed you might lose your appetite or reach for highly-processed or comfort foods—either way, you’re less likely to consume the nutrient-dense foods that ultimately help your body deal with the stressful situation.
Stress can also affect your gut health and function. Your brain and your gut are connected by your nervous system. This is often called the “brain-gut axis.” Your brain’s stress response can lead to gut dysfunction. For example, stress can cause your stomach and intestinal muscles to slow, leading to poor digestion and absorption of your food. This may be why stress is associated with several gut conditions such as gastric reflux, inflammatory bowel disease, and peptic ulcers, to name a few.
How food affects stress
Food choices can either increase or decrease inflammation. Diets high in saturated fats, added sugars, and sodium are associated with higher inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein. Food choices that promote inflammation can stimulate your stress response, even if you're not in a stressful situation. Eating an anti-inflammatory diet, like the Mediterranean-style diet that’s high in fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, unsaturated fats, and fiber, can reduce inflammatory markers (such as C-reactive protein) and is associated with lower stress levels.
Food choices can also influence your gut microbiome, which can affect feelings of stress and depression. Your gut is home to trillions of microorganisms, such as bacteria and yeast, that function like an organ. These gut microorganisms are collectively called your gut microbiome. Since brain-gut access is a 2-way street, the health of your gut microbiome can positively or negatively affect your mental wellbeing. Your diet influences the health and diversity of your gut bacteria.
One way to support a healthy gut is to include “probiotics” and “prebiotics” in your diet. Probiotics are living organisms that have positive effects on health. You can find probiotics in foods such as yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, tempeh, kimchi, miso, kombucha, and pickles. Prebiotics are non-digestible food ingredients, such as fiber, that travel through your gut to feed the probiotics so they can grow and flourish. Natural sources of prebiotics include tomatoes, artichokes, bananas, asparagus, berries, garlic, onions, green vegetables, beans and legumes, oats, barley, and whole wheat.
Finally, nutrient deficiencies can affect feelings of stress and mental wellbeing. Too little energy (calories), carbohydrates (blood sugar), and micronutrients can increase your vulnerability to stress. For example, hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, is a type of physiological stress that initiates the brain’s stress response. Also called “hypoglycemic stress,” low blood sugar can have effects similar to social stress, including increased heart rate, cortisol, and inflammatory markers. You might experience low blood sugar if you're not eating or drinking enough carbohydrates, if you're fasting, or if you increase physical activity without also increasing your carbohydrate intake.
Similarly, not enough total energy (calories) or micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) can also increase your susceptibility to stress. Nutrients help regulate your stress response and manage the systems that help you return to baseline. Additionally, they can help protect your body’s cells from some of the harmful effects of inflammation. If you don’t have enough of these nutrients, it could affect your capacity to manage and bounce back from stress.
How to eat to support optimal stress levels
There’s no single magic food that will rid your life of stress. But there are dietary lifestyles that are associated with lower levels of perceived stress and measurable stress markers over time. Foods that are encouraged by the American Heart Association and the Mediterranean diet are likely to support your stress management. Some simple guidelines to follow include:
- Eat small meals often. Your body and brain need energy (glucose) to work at their best. By eating small, well-rounded meals regularly throughout the day, you provide your brain and body steady energy to avoid hypoglycemia and be prepared to handle stressors that come your way.
- Eat like you live on the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean diet is probably the most well-studied anti-inflammatory diet. You can eat like you live near the Mediterranean by decreasing your intake of saturated fats, added sugars, and sodium and increasing your intake of unsaturated fats, omega-3 fatty acids, colorful fruits and vegetables, and high-fiber whole grains.
- Include prebiotics and probiotics in your day. Your gut health can affect your brain health through the gut-brain axis. One way to support your gut health is to nourish the microorganisms that live there. You can do this by regularly consuming foods that contain probiotics and prebiotics.
- Look out for sneaky stimulants or hidden caffeine sources. Caffeine and other stimulants are meant to make you feel alert. But, if you're already feeling “on edge,” excessive intake of stimulants and caffeine can make you feel worse. Double-check your food and drinks to ensure you're not adding to your stress through your food and drinks choices.
- Choose foods for what they can do for you, rather than how they make you feel. While it’s ok to enjoy the occasional comfort food in times of stress, be sure to get the nutrient-dense foods that will help you build stress resilience. Remember to build your plate with intention.
Stressors are inevitable in life, so it’s not helpful or realistic to try and avoid them completely. Instead, focus on the things you can control to overcome the challenges that come your way. Diet is a modifiable factor that is often within your control. Remember, improved dietary habits can play a major role in your stress management.