Written by Chantel – Resident Naturopath at Choice Pharmacy
Life is busy, it doesn’t stop. These everyday pressures can lead to stress and anxiety. Daily activities can be harder to tackle if you are feeling stressed, tired, overworked and anxious.
Everyone experiences anxiety from time to time. It is a natural response to feeling ‘in danger’. What happens when we have a perceived threat, our body goes into fight or flight mode (sympathetic nervous system dominance). Our body releases hormones such as cortisol, which prepare us to fight or ‘run away from the tiger’. During this time, our body is working to keep us alive. So, functions such as digestion are not as important at that time, but getting blood to our muscles to help us move is. Our body can’t tell the difference between there being an actual threat, or stressors of general everyday life.
As you can see this response is essential to our survival, but long-term exposure to cortisol can lead to other issues such as:
- Poor sleep
- Digestive problems
- Weight gain
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Muscle Tension and pain
- Problems with memory and focus
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
- Hormonal disturbances
- Weakened immunity
What can you do to help support your body through this process?
Dietary and Lifestyle Suggestions:
- Avoid processed foods and sugar. This puts too much pressure on the adrenal glands as sugar is very stimulating.
- Avoid coffee and all other caffeinated products. As I previously mentioned, cortisol gets excreted by our adrenal glands when we are stressed. Coffee also promotes the excretion of cortisol. If you are already stressed and have a lot of cortisol pumping through your body, then coffee adds to this burden.
- Avoid alcohol
- Follow a Mediterranean wholefood diet: Following a Mediterranean type of diet can be very beneficial for your mood. This includes fresh fruit and vegetables, wholegrains, good quality proteins and fats (avocadoes, olive oil, nuts and seeds). Seafood, especially fish, contains essential fatty acids. Which are essential for brain function. All these foods will help to support the nervous system.
- Meditation: Daily meditation can be helpful to reduce cortisol levels and reduce overall stress levels.
- Try yoga, Pilates or breathwork and progressive muscle relaxation, you can YouTube different videos on how to do this.
- Exercise: Exercise promotes happy hormones and helps to reduce stress levels. Aim for 30 minutes, 3 x per week.
Supplements:
- Magnesium: Magnesium is an essential mineral that is involved in over 300 reactions in the body. It is involved in the production of GABA, which is a neurotransmitter that helps with sleep. It also helps to support a healthy stress response and reduces the effects of stress on the body.
- B Vitamins: are the nutrients of the nervous system, and are needed for the production of energy, neurotransmitters and for stress support. B vitamins, particularly B5 is needed for the production of cortisol.
- Ashwagandha (Withania): is known as an adaptogen, so it helps the body to cope with stress. One of the ways it does this is by reducing cortisol levels. It can also help to reduce anxiety levels.
For more information about Stress & Anxiety, have a chat with our naturopath or book in for a consultation.
You can book our naturopath for in-store consultation online or e-mail to naturopath@choicepharmacy.com.au to organise a zoom consultation.