How Changing Nutrition Habits Can Impact Stress Management

Stress Is the body’s way of responding to the hectic lives most of us live, whether good or bad. The body releases chemicals into the bloodstream, which creates a rush of energy and strength If an individual is feeling stressed. This energy can prove useful if an individual is in physical danger. Because it enables a person’s survival instinct kicks in; it is often described as ‘fight or flight.’ In addition, stress can also have a negative effect on the body, for example: suffering from stress and leaving it unchecked can contribute to health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.

In today’s world, one cannot watch a thirty-minute television show without being bombarded with commercials promoting the latest, “Breakthrough Health Kick.” The Paleo Diet, Atkins Diet, South Beach Diet, along with a vast number of diets on the market has skewed the idea of healthy eating. The textbook, Nutrition from Science to You, states, “Healthy eating means you need to balance, vary, and moderate your nutrient intake.” Sadly, when I took two days to analyze my own diet I found a lack of balance, variety, and the ability to eat in moderation.

As subjects and ideas are better understood they replace old outdated ideas that were only visually explained without a logical or scientific. Nutrition is one of these subjects that despite its large advancements is lagging behind in implementation. Ideas revolving around breakfast, the nutrition tree and number of meals per day are rather old and being followed simply because they have been done for so long. With new understandings of the metabolic processes of the body as well as research or prove new fact we are seeing that large problems such as obesity and diabetes can be easily preventable with proper nutrition.

What peoples beliefs are can also affect their diet, they may become vegetarian or vegan which can be very healthy if executed the right way. A lot of studies have been done that relate stress and weight gain, so stress can definitely influence the way a person eats. Not only can it be academically but also social kind of stress can contribute to unhealthy choices, for example, after a bad breakup people actually do tend to eat more sweets and just sit around. Information on what people can do different in their diets would be very helpful; having a better knowledge on healthier diets would help people recognize what they are doing wrong and how to fix it. Many times people turn to fad diets because the fastest way and easiest place to get information from, now a days, is going on the internet and that’s were so many fad diets are being advertised. Time, it is apparently a hard thing to find in college, no one has time to go out to the store and buy groceries much less cook them, leading people to find something they can make quick in order to go back and hit the books or the television, a quick meal most of the time isn’t the best thing. These were some of the main reasons mentioned by the students that seem to affect eating behaviors (Deliens,

Moran, L.J, Z. Sui, C. Cramp, and J. Dodd. "A Decrease in Diet Quality Occurs During

Stress is one of the number one causes that contribute to people’s health problems. According to Weber.edu, “in Healthy People 2000, a report from the U.S.

The additional calories taken in when I routinely have consumed breakfast added to my caloric intake, and would leave me feeling sluggish in the morning. I have eliminated the routine breakfast from my diet, choosing to eat a large but balanced meal later in the day, only when I’m hungry. Instead of breakfast, I drink fluids and exercise in the morning. This has reduced my daily calories, and synergized my metabolism for the day ahead. Making the habit of eating at a particular time of day, I had allowed the clock, and culture to dictate my eating habits, rather than the needs of my body. The information in this course has only encouraged me that allowing a diet plan to dictate my nutritional needs does not work for long term health. For a healthier life, a balanced and informed lifestyle of listening to, and fulfilling the needs of my own body through nutrition and exercise will provide better results.

      Stress is an ongoing dilemma that occurs in each and everyone’s life. It is a factor that is undoubtedly a part of daily living. Due to the trivial problems that occur in people’s daily lives massive amounts of stress can arise. People perceive and manage stress in many different ways. The causes and effects of stress are numerous and one’s ability to manage stress is vital in maintaining healthy living.

Psychological stress is a result of many factors and should be dealt with very carefully. Stress can be defined as “An excess of demand made upon the adaptive capabilities of the mind and body”.(Joseph 1). Another way of putting it, is that there are some things that put certain demands on us. The effects of stress should not be limited to unpleasant emotional states. Many studies have concluded that the effects on our physical health from stress can be extremely detrimental. These adverse physical effects include heart disease and formations of cancer. There are also some societal issues that psychological stress can hamper.

Many people perform poorly at their jobs and have less energy due to the unhealthy eating habits they have.

Another way one can manage stress is through breathing control and meditation. Breathing control includes the “take ten deep breaths” attempt to managing stress. Breathing helps one to calm themselves, and to think more

Because I have dealt with anxiety before, I have a good idea of my stress level. My stress levels can become very high, and as a result, I have several ways of dealing with stress. As a result, I am familiar with some of the techniques mentioned in the textbook. For example, exercising has always been an effective stress technique for me. As mentioned in the textbook, performing exercises such as running and walking on a regular basis has been an effective way for me to reduce stress. However, the textbook has also introduced me to new techniques to help manage my stress, as well as ways to improve techniques I already use. One of these new techniques is eating healthy. Prior to reading the text, I never considered that my eating habits would affect my stress levels. However, after reading through the text, I can definitely see how my eating habits and stress levels affect each other. After evaluating my eating habits, I noticed that I do not eat healthy when I am stressed. When I become stressed or have an important event coming up, such having a test or a paper due, I tend to skip meals like breakfast and lunch, and instead eat smaller snacks of foods such as candy

    Stress today can be described as "that which disturbs a person's mental and physical well-being" (Morrison 1).  Common symptoms of stress include chronic fatigue, changes in appetite, drug and/or alcohol abuse,  difficulty sleeping, body aches, and changes in emotions (Cooper 1-2).  And although stress is something that is inevitable, it can be controlled.  Just about everything we do today creates stress, both good and bad.  In the face paced and technological world we live in, stress management is key to survival as well as sanity.

There are many ways to reduce or handle stress in your life. The easiest and one of the healthiest antidotes for stress is laughter. Just smiling helps because it releases blood flow to the brain and endorphins are released. (4.) This gives a sense of well being. Some other simple techniques are doing uninterrupted breathing. Another stressor is lack of sleep. Therefore break the stress-sleeplessness cycle. You can help relieve your sleep problem by developing a daily sleep routine and don’t drink alcohol or caffeine before bed. Another thing is to reserve your bedroom for sleeping and sex only. (4.) Writing down your feeling in a diary may help relieve emotional stress. (4.)

“Stress is a silent disease” (Doctor Hobel). Over the years, stress has played a major rule in a large majority of people’s lives throughout the United States. When thought about, it is said to be extremely surprising as to how many people really have stress in each individual’s life. People do not consider what the reasons are for the feelings and emotions they experience. There are all different types of stress, and stress can do a lot to a person. Each person also handles stress in a different way. Some can handle more than others, because every single person’s body works in a different way. Stress has also been told to cause people to act out of character (Dr. David Posen). They often do not act the way they usually would while under