Eat When Stressed, But Eat Right

Relax, Eating After Stress Is A Natural Response -- But Mind Your Carbs

Are there foods that will calm your natural reactions to stress and improve your ability to deal with stress?

According to almost every stress expert in America, the answer is yes. If you want to improve your mental and emotional well-being and increase your stress-fighting capacities, change your diet. Food is power.

During a stress response, your body goes into fight-or-flight mode.

Your nervous system accelerates. So does your metabolism. Proteins and muscles begin breaking down. The delicate balance of amino acids is disturbed, depleting your body's store of glucose and nutrients.

There is no doubt that stress upsets your biochemical equilibrium. What can you do to fight back?

You can give your mind and body weapons against the ravages of stress. One of the most effective ways to reduce the irritability and anxiety associated with stress is to regulate this blood sugar imbalance through food. And you can eat foods that are more likely to encourage you to have a positive attitude.

An Everyday Sugar Crisis

Your body goes into fight-or-flight mode.

During a fight-or-flight reaction, your cells demand sugar for fuel -- and quickly. Unfortunately, on this particular morning, you skipped breakfast, and supper the night before was Fritos and a diet Coke. You have a minimal amount of circulating blood sugar available to handle your stressful event.

So your liver releases part of its stockpile of stored blood sugar.

When the stressful event is over, your blood sugar is low and depleted. Low blood sugar, known as hypoglycemia, causes weakness, anxiety, nervousness, shakiness and confusion. You feel weak, tremulous and irritable. You reach for a doughnut or a candy bar because your body craves sugar.

That was not the best choice. Eating simple sugars and junk foods will indeed raise your blood sugar, but only for a short time. As soon as that ingested burst of sugar is metabolized, your circulating levels of blood sugar drops back precipitously low. And the cycle of irritability and poor mental performance continues.

Steady Stream Of Complex Sugar

To avoid sugar highs and lows, eat a diet high in complex carbohydrates. These foods, like whole-grain breads and cereals, pasta, rice and potatoes, are made up of tightly interwoven sugars that break down slowly over long periods of time.

Eat your complex carbohydrates in small frequent meals, as many as six modest meals a day, to give your body a steady release of blood sugar throughout your entire 24-hour cycle.

Resist the temptation to indulge your cravings for Trix, Twix, Mountain Dew and other junk with simple sugars. Your body is begging for a quick sugar high, but it's only dealing in crisis management. You've got the long-term picture in mind.

If you are what you eat, then choose complex carbohydrates to make you feel calm and easy. Load up the bread machine, and make yourself a week's worth of wheat and rye bread. Let the staff of life soak up your stress. It sure beats tranquilizers.

Food quiz:

• From the Mayo Clinic's Health Oasis: What do you know about candy and fast food?

• From the Fitness Jumpsite: Don't forget good nutrition when you're under pressure.
• Humor: The Non-Stress Diet.
• From Aquarian Mind & Body: High stress linked to long-term dietary imbalances.

--Jacqueline Tresl, R.N., a coronary intensive care nurse and nursing supervisor for over 20 years, has written about health and happiness for magazines and newspapers for three years. Her first book, "Whoever Heard of a Horse In The House?" is scheduled for release in March.
--First published Dec. 15, 1999.

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