This article aims to explain how stress influences your brain and eating habits.. read it slowly to better understand the science behind our brains!
It is proposed that food has three main functions:
1) Nutrition – nutrition is essential to human survival
2) Sensory – food satisfy the sensory needs through flavor and texture
3) Physiological – food regulate the biorhythm, control ageing and enhance and support the immune system.
Stress causes an increase in serotonergic neuron activity in our brains. This means that more serotonin will be used during stressful times.. This is the natural way of coping with stress and preventing stress-induced depression.
Tryptophan is an amino acid that is used as a precursor for serotonin. A lack of tryptophan will cause a decrease in serotonin production. So, the more you stress, the more serotonin is used and the quicker tryptophan levels will get depleted.
Eating a high carbohydrate, low protein meal will cause an increase in tryptophan levels. Dietary carbohydrates enhance the uptake of tryptophan into the brain, which allows a greater serotonin production. Insulin has little or no effect on the tryptophan levels HOWEVER, it lowers the plasma levels of amino acids that compete with tryptophan. Meaning it supports tryptophan to get to the brain to support higher breakdown of serotonin breakdown during stress.
The carb rich/protein poor meal causes a significant 42% increase in plasma tryptophan compared to the protein rich/carb poor meal.
Eating suppressed during stress and increased during the recovery from stress. This is due to residual cortisol levels in the blood. Stress increases your appetite, leads to an increase in food consumption and especially an increase in sugary food intake. Therefore, the psychological response to stress influences subsequent eating behavior.
Night eating syndrome (NES) is characterized by:
1) No appetite for breakfast
2) 50% or more daily food intake happens after 6:00pm
3) Trouble getting to and or staying asleep
This is mainly caused by stress and a higher residual cortisol level. NES sufferers will have poor results with weight loss due to the high cortisol levels.
Nutrition can play a powerful role in stress management. Always ensure that a healthy balanced meal plan is followed. Never cut out a specific food group completely, because every little micronutrient play an important role in the functioning of our bodies! Find ways to relieve stress, especially if you are prone to anxiety. Stress relieve activities that can be consider include:
- exercise such as walking, yoga or pilates
- taking a warm bath after a long day…