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Food and Stress
What we eat has a direct effect on how we feel, how we cope with stressful life events, and how well we maintain our immune systems. Foods high in saturated fats, like red meats, and refined sugar, like white bread, cause us to produce more insulin. More insulin means less fat breakdown, as well as a bigger appetite, which leads to overeating. Some foods, called “high stress foods,” can make stress worse; others can actually help us combat stress and keep us healthy during those times when we need it most.
• Foods That May Increase Stress Effects
Cake, candy, cold cuts (except for low-fat meats such as turkey and chicken breast), doughnuts, fried foods, meats high in saturated fat, sweet rolls, white pasta, white rice, whole milk, white bread
• Foods That May Reduce Stress Effects
Beans, brown rice, chicken breast (not fried), cottage cheese, fat-free or low-fat milk, fish, fruit (especially apples, bananas, cantaloupe, oranges, and pineapple), legumes, nuts, oatmeal, soybeans, sunflower seeds, turkey breast, vegetables (especially dark green and those with beta-carotene), wheat germ, whole grain cereal, whole wheat bread.
The more body fat you store, especially around the midsection, the more your hormone levels will be affected and the greater your risk becomes of developing disease. Since the brain is linked to virtually every bodily function, and hormones play a key role in both mental and physical health, losing those extra pounds around the middle will certainly keep the mind-body connection healthy as well.
Carbohydrate cycling has been used by bodybuilders for decades as a way to burn fat quickly and to show off their muscles. It has always been a kind of secret weapon during competition season when they needed to get their total body fat as low as possible. After all, you can have all the muscle in the world, but if there’s a layer of body fat covering it, what good does it do? But, carb cycling isn’t just for bodybuilders; it’s for people who want to reduce their carbohydrate input and maintain a healthy weight.
To cycle, all you need to do is alternate high-carb days that boost metabolism with low-carb days that break down fat and build muscle. On high-carb days, eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole wheat breads, pasta, and whole grains, in addition to protein at every meal. Minimize fats on these days. On low-carb days, consume protein and good fats but very few carbs, except for breakfast. Regardless of which day you’re on, always eat three meals and two healthy snacks per day every three hours to maintain metabolism and keep from getting hungry. And remember to eat protein at every meal. On the seventh day, reward yourself by eating anything you want before starting the cycle again.
The Curative Properties of Water
Two-thirds of the human body is made up of water. When your body loses 2 percent of its total fluid, you begin to experience the symptoms of dehydration. Even a slight loss of body fluids affects the brain; and we know the extent to which the brain controls the rest of the body. Some of the more common effects are thirst, loss of appetite, dry skin, dark urine, dry mouth, and fatigue. Fluid loss of 5 percent leads to increased heart rate and respiration, decreased perspiration and higher body temperature, extreme fatigue, and muscle cramps. A loss of 10 percent is so severe that dehydration becomes an emergency that must be treated immediately.
Each of us reacts differently to dehydration because we’re all unique. Age, size, and health all play a role in how we react physically, but not drinking enough water can lead to some common disorders we normally don’t think of as being caused by dehydration. For example:
• High blood pressure: Blood loses gases as water leaves the circulatory system and, therefore, blood vessels constrict in order to prevent further loss.
• High cholesterol: One of the main components of cell membranes is cholesterol. As a defense mechanism, the body increases the production of cholesterol in order to keep cells from dehydrating.
• High blood sugar: When blood volume decreases as a result of dehydration, circulation through the capillaries decreases and the concentration of blood sugar rises in relation to other blood chemicals.
• Decreased muscle building: Muscles need water for protein synthesis. When there’s not enough water, muscle fibers begin to break down and strength levels decline.
• Increased joint pain: Water is a major component of cartilage in the body, which includes joints. It also carries the nutrients that help build cartilage and prevent inflammation, abrasion and wear and tear. Furthermore, because water is stored in the vertebrae, it acts to support the weight of the upper body and prevent back pain.
• Increased buildup of toxins: The kidney is the body’s natural dialysis system, filtering the entire blood supply and removing toxins from the body. A good fluid level will keep the kidneys functioning properly and help the body rid itself of toxic substances.
You can see how drinking adequate amounts of water can prevent the onset of many disorders and keep your mind and body in a state of balance. But unless you’re exercising vigorously or working out in the sun, you don’t need to drink eight glasses of water a day as some health gurus claim. Many of the foods and liquids we drink have enough water to keep us hydrated. A good way to gauge how dehydrated you are is to look at the color of your urine. If it’s clear or a very pale yellow, it’s a good sign that you’re hydrated. If it begins to turn dark, you need to drink more. That’s all there is to it.
Recent evidence about sugar and how much of it we consume is painting a sobering picture of how sugar is linked to a number of diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and cancer. Until a few years ago, the main dietary culprit was fat. But to the surprise of researchers, as fat was replaced with sugar in many products, the incidence of heart disease went up, not down. The average weight of the population also went up. We now know that the simple sugars found in soda and other sugary drinks, cookies, and candies are also found in foods we might not even realize contain sugars, and are the main cause of the skyrocketing obesity and Type II diabetes epidemics.
According to Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of California, the amount of sugar and high fructose corn syrup in processed foods is creating an entire generation of obese and sick children. One of the main ways it’s doing this is by increasing small dense LDL, the type of LDL cholesterol that clogs the arteries and leads to heart disease. And with the average person consuming nearly 130 pounds of sugar per year, the rates of disease will continue to increase.
One recent study, by Kimber Stanhope, PhD at the University of California–Davis, found that calories from sugar are different than calories from other foods. When subjects were given sweetened drinks as part of a controlled diet, their LDL cholesterol went up after just two weeks because the liver begins to convert the fructose into fat, which then gets into the bloodstream to create the small dense LDL molecules.12
Another study found that sugar actually helps certain types of cancer tumors grow.13 Breast cancers and colon cancer, for example, contain insulin receptors, which allow the tumor to absorb sugar in the presence of insulin. When an individual with a tumor consumes
