Stress and Cortisol... AGAIN!

Here we go again, stressing stress reduction.  We have heard positive comments from many of you about ways you have reduced stress in your lives, but we also know it is an ongoing battle so we are going to revisit it. 

You will recall that when we experience stress, our bodies respond by producing adrenal hormones.  One of those hormones is cortisol which plays an important role in our "fight or flight" response.  However, when cortisol is secreted continually, day after day, in response to ongoing stress, it has toxic effects on our bodies.  Excess cortisol has been linked to Alzheimer's disease and memory loss and has been shown to suppress our immune systems and accelerate aging. 

Excess cortisol production can be caused by mental or emotional stressors such as our jobs, the death of a loved one, or too many demands on our time.  Physical stressors such as lack of sleep, dieting, and poor nutrition also cause excess cortisol secretion.  For some of the things that cause stress in our lives, we have no control over the event occurring, and the best we can do is manage how we deal with that stress.  But there are some factors that we can control and one of those is our food choices. We are going to look at some ways we can help reduce the stress response and cortisol levels in our bodies through our diets. 

Drops and spikes in our blood sugar level have a negative impact on our stress level and hormone production.  When we go too long between meals, our blood sugar drops and our mental, physical and emotional energy decrease and our stress increases.  We can prevent this by eating smaller meals more often.  Typically, blood sugar levels stay stable for about 4 hours after a meal but as we have emphasized many times, we are all individuals and if you find your levels start to drop sooner then plan your meals accordingly.

Processed carbohydrates are considered stress-inducing foods.  Foods such as sugar, pastries, bread, pasta, and white rice cause a blood sugar spike which in turn causes our bodies to overproduce insulin.  This excess insulin then causes more cortisol to be released.  By eliminating or minimizing processed carbs from our diets, we will help stabilize our blood sugar levels and protect ourselves from excess insulin and cortisol levels.

Certain foods are considered to be stress-reducing foods because they fill us up, keep our blood sugar stable, and therefore, reduce cortisol production.  Lean, complete proteins are considered some of the best stress-reducing foods.  Some good examples would be whey protein, salmon, tuna, white fish, egg whites, chicken breast, and turkey.  Furthermore, when lean protein is combined with good fats, they slow down the conversion of carbohydrates into glucose which keeps our blood sugar stable. 

Some additional foods that have been found to lower cortisol levels are dark chocolate, black tea, white beans, citrus fruits, and liver.  No, it is no coincidence that I listed dark chocolate first, and liver last.  Yes, my mother made liver and onions when I was growing up and it had a lasting impression!  So, even if you choose not to include liver and onions in your diet, there are many choices that you can make that will have a positive impact on your stress levels and health.